At least three dead in northern Italy floods and thousands of people evacuated

In nearby Forlì, the body of an elderly man was found on the banks of the Montone River. The man was dragged from his house, which was flooded. His wife managed to get up in time and rescuers rescued her.

At Ronta di Cesena another man was killed. Firefighters found his body. Someone was also killed in Cesenatico. Three people are currently missing.

It has been raining for several days in the Emilia-Romagna region and is expected to continue until Wednesday. “It will continue to rain for several more hours,” Titi Postiglione of the Civil Defense told Italian television channels. “We are facing a very difficult situation.”

Because of all the flowing water, landslides occurred in the Apennines. In total, 14 rivers in the region have burst their banks, including the Savio River. Cesena lost electricity. He said that people had to be rescued from their rooftops because the streets were completely flooded, and the same applies to Faenza, which is a little to the south, Corriere di Bologna.

There are many rescue workers in the area to evacuate people. The mayor of Ravenna, Michele de Pascal, spoke on the radio about “probably the worst night in the history of Romania”. His city is “unrecognizable because of the damage it has sustained”.

The emergency room of the Senigallia Hospital near Ancona, the capital of the Marche region, has been evacuated due to flooding. Along the Adriatic coast, authorities closed access to beaches due to strong winds and high waves. Schools in the affected areas will remain closed today. Many trains in the area are not running at the moment.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni expressed on Twitter her “full solidarity with the affected population”. It says it is following events closely and “the government is ready to intervene to provide the necessary assistance.”