HASAt least ten people were killed in violent weather that hit central Italy on the night of Thursday September 15 to Friday September 16, flooding streets and homes, civil protection said. Four other people are also missing, including a six-year-old child who was with his mother in the car. The latter was saved by firefighters, but the force of the water current carried her child away, according to the AGI agency. The most affected region is the province of Ancona, a port on the Adriatic Sea, but the bad weather has also hit the neighboring region, Umbria.
In the province of Ancona, many areas have been without electricity and without telephone lines and schools will be closed on Friday in the most affected localities. According to Corriere della serraabout 400 mm of rain fell Thursday evening in two hours, an amount that normally falls in six months in this area.
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Firefighter video shot in the town of Senigallia shows rescuers in deserted streets, waist deep in water, dashing out in search of people by rowing a dinghy. The water also invaded the cellars and many cars were carried away by the force of the current or buried under mudslides. Falling trees and landslides cut off many local roads, making it more difficult for rescuers to work.
“It’s called climate crisis, not bad weather”
“Dozens of people who had taken refuge on trees and the roofs of houses were rescued,” the firefighters wrote on their Twitter account on Friday morning. “More than 150 interventions carried out, 7 dead and 3 missing”, adds the tweet.
“It’s called climate crisis, not bad weather,” reacted on Twitter the Italian branch of Fridays for Future, the youth movement for the climate, while the president of the Italian Red Cross, Francesco Rocca is said to be “concerned by the increase in extreme climatic phenomena”.
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A week before the September 25 legislative elections, many political leaders expressed their support for the region, including Matteo Salvini, leader of the Sovereignty League, and Enrico Letta, leader of the Democratic Party (PD, center left). The president of the region, Francesco Acquaroli, for his part indicated that he had received telephone calls of solidarity from the President of the Republic Sergio Mattarella and the head of government Mario Draghi.
Like its European neighbours, Italy is affected by climate change. The Po plain, the country’s largest river, experienced its worst drought in 70 years this summer. And on July 11, 11 people were killed when a section of the Marmolada glacier collapsed in the Italian Alps.