Man missing as torrential rains flood northern Italy

world
Man Missing As Torrential Rains Flood Northern Italy
A car stuck in a flooded underpass
Share this article

By Associated Press

A wave of violent rainstorms battered northern Italy on Thursday, flooding the financial hub of Milan and raising fears for the life of a man who was swept away on a tractor in the Piedmont region.

Footage from state TV RAI showed the wheel of the vehicle still visible inside the Orco creek, near Turin, where the tractor overturned in muddy water.

Advertisement

Rescuers said they were searching for the missing 58-year-old man.


A woman wades through floodwater in Milan
A woman wades through floodwater in Milan (Stefano Porta/LaPresse/AP)

Another river overflowed in Piedmont’s Val di Susa, collapsing two bridges, blocking a road and isolating about 50 people in two villages.

Advertisement

Two other northern regions, Lombardy and Veneto, were hit by widespread flooding, which caused damage and disruption in the city of Milan, where the Seveso and Lambro rivers overflowed.

Firefighters in Milan said they responded to dozens of calls to rescue people stuck in their cars in flooded underpasses and to drain basements filled with water.


Cars drive through flooded streets
Drivers in flooded streets in Milan (Claudio Furlan/LaPresse/AP)

Advertisement

Some underground services had to be suspended because of the flooding. For the first time since it was founded in 1976, Milan’s Radio Popolare station went off the air because its broadcast centre was flooded.

Scientists say that the climate crisis is increasing the frequency of extreme weather events, such as heatwaves, droughts, downbursts and flooding, in Europe and around the globe.

They say storms are becoming heavier because warm air can hold more moisture.

Southern Italy recently has been suffering a severe drought, causing massive problems for local agriculture and tourism, especially on the islands of Sicily and Sardinia.

Advertisement

Read More

Message submitting... Thank you for waiting.

Want us to email you top stories each lunch time?

Download our Apps
© BreakingNews.ie 2024, developed by Square1 and powered by PublisherPlus.com