It has started raining again in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna. That’s bad news, as the area has been hit hard by flooding and landslides in recent days following previous heavy rainfall. At least 14 people were killed in the storm.
LOOK. Residents in northern Italy try to clean up the mud and water: “Everything will be damaged”
The highest warning level still applies in several places in Emilia-Romagna. The new showers can cause the water level in the rivers to rise again and cause them to overflow their banks again. That happened last Friday around the city of Ravenna.
According to the Italian news agency ANSA, at least 15,000 people have already been evacuated by the storm. In some places, the streets are still flooded and the water is slowly receding. Rescue workers and volunteers are trying to clear the mud on the roads. Residents are still trying to save their belongings, but for many the destruction is complete. Several people also have difficulty obtaining food and drinking water.
LOOK. VTM NEWS reporter Tessa Rens from Faenza, where the water has receded a bit in the meantime: “People are still trying to save their stuff”
A helicopter also crashed earlier today in the municipality of Lugo, in the province of Ravenna. The accident happened when the helicopter was inspecting power lines damaged by a thunderstorm. All four occupants were taken to hospital, but only one of them was injured, the Italian fire service said.
The European department of the World Health Organization (WHO) has described the floods as the “worst in Italy in a century”. The rain showers in the north of the country followed months of drought, which, according to meteorologists, makes it more difficult for the water to sink into the ground. Also earlier this month, two people died in a storm in Emilia-Romagna.
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