Only a few days before Easter, the bad weather continues to beat Italy. On Thursday, the northwest was affected by strong winds, heavy rains and hail, causing floods in several cities and significant damage, in particular infrastructure.
The transport sector was the hardest, with serious disruption in traffic and certain areas cut due to road closings and highways.
In the early hours of Friday, the storm began to move northeast and the central regions of the country. The most affected areas include Piedmont, Lombardy and Veneto.
The Department of Civil Protection has published a red alert for Friday April 18 in Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna due to the increase in water levels in the Po river. An orange alert is in place for two other areas in Lombardy, while a yellow alert has been published in eight regions.
Two deaths in the Vicenza region
The bodies of two disappeared men were found in the trinting flood basin (vicenza), after their car was swallowed by a valdagno cave caused by violent weather. They were identified as Leone Nardon, 65, and her son Francesco, 34.
The bodies were recovered by firefighters a few hours apart, after a night search after the pair was missing Thursday evening. It is believed that they were on their way to the town hall as a volunteer to help the emergency response, after having heard of the generalized floods in the region.
“I send my condolences to the family and the community of Valdagno, which was so severely struck this Friday by an extreme weather event, both in its intensity and the amount of rain that fell,” said Luca Zaia, president of the Vénéto region.
“I would like to thank the regional civil protection, the Vicenza Engineering Corps, all the volunteers and rescuers who are currently working in the Agno valley and other affected areas.”
In the Turin region, another death was reported: a 92 -year -old retired carpenter who became trapped in his house in Monteu da Po and would have drowned.
According to first estimates, the damage caused by the storm in Piedmont could represent tens of millions of euros, said Marco Gabusi, the regional civil protection councilor.
“Strong rains have already caused landslides, floods, evacuations and, unfortunately, the collapse of a bridge – this is a situation that requires the greatest attention,” said Gabusi.
More than 700 firefighters are on the ground, dealing with flood waters, removing the fallen trees and securing the areas with shifts, especially around Turin.
Red alert for floods from the Po river
There is a maximum alert for the risk of flooding the river, after strong precipitation. The main concern is the River Po, which could explode its banks on the border between Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna, having increased by almost five meters in the past 24 hours.
The flood should go through Emilia with water levels close to alert level three.
The weather forecast suggests a return of sun on Friday and partly on Saturday, but it will only be a brief respite: between Easter Sunday and Easter Monday, the rain should return to the center and northern Italy, while the South should remain sunny.
ADVERTISEMENTStrong snowfall struck Italy, France and Switzerland
Strong snowfall hit the southern Alps on Thursday, causing travel disturbances and power outages.
In France, avalanche warnings have reached level five in places such as Chamonix, with reports of more than a meter of snow falling in certain regions.
In Switzerland, snow has disrupted road and rail transport and left several areas of the canton of Valais without electricity. Schools in the region were closed on Thursday as a precaution.
According to local sources.
ADVERTISEMENTThe local media reported that the snowfall of this intensity have not been recorded in the center of Valais in April since 1976.
