Red alert

More severe weather in Italy: red alert!

After the severe storms in Italy, the emergency services in individual regions are once again under pressure. Emilia Romagna, Tuscany and Umbria are particularly affected. The river Lamone in the municipality of Traversara has already burst its banks - the emergency services are on alert.

The series of storms does not seem to be abating: Several regions in Italy are affected by heavy rainfall. In central Italy in particular, especially in Emilia Romagna, Tuscany and Umbria, the emergency services are already taking initial precautions against possible severe flooding. 

First evacuations 
On Friday night, the Lamone River in the municipality of Traversara, not far from the Adriatic port city of Ravenna, burst its banks again. This case already occurred in the same place as on September 19, when the village was completely flooded, as Italian media reported.

Italy had already been hit by severe storms in September.(Bild: Screenshot/Vigili del Fuoco)

The municipality reported that ground and upper floors in several other streets had to be evacuated. The civil defense issued a warning of the highest level for parts of Emilia Romagna. There are concerns that rivers and streams could burst their banks and cause flooding and landslides.

Highest warning level on the Adriatic coast
There was also heavy rainfall in other regions on the Adriatic coast, such as Veneto and Apulia, where an increased warning level applies. It also rained heavily in other regions such as Tuscany, the Marche and Lazio. Traffic in the capital Rome came to a standstill on Thursday evening due to heavy rainfall.

The Emilia Romagna region in northern Italy had already been hit by heavy rainfall and subsequent flooding in mid-September. Thousands of people were evacuated. The water flooded entire fields and the damage to property amounted to several billion euros. In May 2023, 17 people had already lost their lives in severe storms in the region.