ROME (Reuters) – A storm system that has wreaked havoc across central Europe brought devastating floods to the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna on Thursday, forcing people to leave their homes and the closure of schools.
About 1,000 people have been evacuated, acting regional president Irene Priolo told RAI public radio, saying however this was a much lower figure compared to major floods that plagued the region last year.
In Lugo, a town of about 30,000 people west of Ravenna, authorities ordered the evacuation of all ground floor residences after the local Senio river broke its banks.
A low-pressure system named Boris has caused the worst flooding in at least two decades from Romania to Poland over the past week, and killed at least 23 people.
The heavy rains swept into the Emilia-Romagna on Wednesday, forcing authorities to close schools and suspend some rail services.
The rains were inundating the same area that was hit by two rounds of floods in May 2023, which killed 17 people and caused 8.5 billion euros ($9.5 billion) of damage, according to regional authorities.
“We are in a full emergency … the event is very similar to what we had last May,” the Mayor of Ravenna, Michele De Pascale, told Radio 24 broadcaster.
De Pascale said “devastating rains” fell on the hilly parts of Emilia-Romagna on Wednesday, with the water then washing down and overwhelming cities in lowland areas.
The national fire department said it carried out more than 500 rescue operations in the region, including with the use of helicopters to lift people from flooded homes.
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(Reporting by Alvise Armellini, editing by Crispian Balmer and Sharon Singleton)
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