Search operations were ongoing on
Friday morning for two people reported missing near Ravenna
after the Emilia-Romagna region experienced a second night of
floods caused by torrential rain.
At least two people were reported missing in the floods on
Thursday while nearly 1,500 residents were evacuated with the
extreme-weather red alert expected to last at least until Friday
night, local authorities said.
The pair are missing at Bagnacavallo near Ravenna after a roof
where they had taken shelter collapsed where the Lamone river
broke its banks, flooding the town and destroying homes.
Nearly the entire town was evacuated.
The worst-hit provinces were Bologna, Cesena, Forlì, Ravenna and
Rimini.
In particular, severely affected zones included the town of
Modigliana near Cesena and Forlì which was hit by landslides, a
number of areas in the province of Bologna, where the Idice
river broke its banks at Budrio, the Zena valley and Forlì,
where an overflowing Montone river kept residents on edge, local
authorities said.
In the province of Ravanna, the areas of Faenza, Castel
Bolognese, Cotignola and Lugo were badly hit by the floods.
Late on Thursday, the rain ceased and the level of rivers
sensibly decreased with a number of evacuation orders or orders
for residents to remain on the top floor of buildings revoked.
Railway traffic was reactivated in most provinces with just a
few exceptions.
The extreme-weather red alert however was extended to Friday
with schools remaining closed in the area of Ravenna and in a
few areas around Forlì and Cesena, interim Emilia-Romagna
Governor Irene Priolo said.
Civil protection department chief Fabio Ciciliano said the
"emergency is absolutely not over", explianing that the
evolution of the situation was being closely monitored.
In May 2023, Emilia Romagna was hit by flooding and landslides
linked to unprecedented rainfall that left 17 people dead and
caused billions of euros of damage.
Many of the areas flooded due to the torrential rain Thursday
had already been affected by the 2023 floods.
Meanwhile torrential rain also hit the Marche region, in
particular Ancona where the Aspio river overflowed its banks,
and the province of Senigallia.
In Tuscany, the northern part of the Mugello area on Friday was
on high alert after a number of provincial roads were shut down
on Thursday due to landslides caused by torrential rain.
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