In central Italy, the highest flood protection alert level has come into effect.
In Italy, it is the highest in the Emilia Romagna and Marche regions, and its colour is red. Flood preparedness It came into effect, national roads and bridges were closed, and many railway services were suspended, while the safety of the population began as of dawn on Thursday.
In Emilia Romagna, more than a thousand people were moved from their homes in a few hours: more than eight hundred in the Ravenna area, and another two hundred in the Bologna area.
Many people spent Thursday night in temporary accommodation provided by the disaster management authority. At dawn, the evacuation of isolated settlements began, and residents were evacuated from residential buildings near the dams. When necessary, locals are being transported by helicopter.
Classes have been suspended, traffic has been suspended on five railway lines, and high-speed trains link the northern and southern parts of the country via a detour.
The mayor of Ravenna has ordered people living along the Lamone and Montone rivers to move to the upper floors of buildings or to accommodation designated for reception. Starting Thursday, markets, cemeteries, sports facilities, museums, libraries, daycare centres and other social centres will be closed, parks will be closed and cultural events will be suspended.
“Do not approach flood areas, avoid rivers and streams, and do not enter basements or warehouses.” Michel de Pasquale appealed to the population. He asked that only those who were in dire need of his car should use it.
The area was last hit by floods in May, when 45,000 residents were forced to leave their homes.
In the Marche region, streets and fields were flooded in Ancona and Ascoli Piceno, and landslides followed one another in Bologna.
Violent storms that previously hit central Europe reached Italy on Tuesday. In central Italy, heavy rains have been following one another for several days: the Rimini fairgrounds were flooded, tropical rains drenched the capital Rome, and the bad weather also reached the Puglia region further south, where a firefighter was rescued after being swept away in his car by floodwaters. An uninhabited building collapsed during the downpour in Campobasso, in the Molise province.
You can read our article on the flood situation in Hungary here.