Flash Floods in Italy | Print |

Italy hit by flash flooding

It is ironic just a couple of weeks ago the shores of New Jersey took the brunt of Hurricane Sandy.  And now on the other side of the world, the northern regions of Umbria and Tuscany are experiencing some major flash flooding.  Many have had to evacuate their homes and some are without electricity.

Venice, a city that has seen many "acqua alta" or high waters, has experienced the 6th highest flood levels since the late 1800s.  Over 60% of the city is still under water.

The famous Tiber river in Rome was way above normal, although it did not flood the city.  However, it did flood some of the jogging trails in the Eternal City.  The Po River in the Lombardy region near Milan nearly overflowed.  The main highway between Rome and Florence had one stretch that was flooded for the first time since the 1980s.

The region of the Cinque Terre was also hit very hard, similar to what happened last year in Vernazza and Monterosso.

"There are stories about big floods in the past, but nothing like this."

Orbetello Mayor Monica Paffetti

Image of the famous Acqua Alta in Venice, Italy

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Photo Credit

TheWiz83 at the Italian language Wikipedia [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/)], from Wikimedia Commons