Tuscany, Rome and Venice are on extreme weather alert after storms dumped a quarter of the Italy’s average annual rainfall in the area of just two days.
The Civil Protection Department issued a maximum red alert for these regions –
There is severe flooding across Tuscany, with more than 62 mm of rain falling in Florence over the last 24 hours, and gusts of wind last night reaching up to 76 km p/h.
Thunderstorms and strong gusts of wind are bringing the city of Rome to its knees, where hundreds of fire brigade operations have taken place on Sunday.
The acqua alta in Venice came worryingly close last night to reach levels last seen during the flood of 1966, and waters are reportedly rising again. Venice was hit by the highest tide in more than 50 years, with tourists wading through flooded streets to seek shelter as a fierce wind whipped up waves in St. Mark’s Square.