FLASH
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Heavy rainfall in the Tuscany and Emilia-Romagna regions of Italy caused flooding, leading to school closures and evacuations of residents from some areas.
Several major rivers exceeded their levels, raising concerns about expanding flooding.
The continuous rainfall that has hit central Italy in recent hours has put authorities on alert, especially in Emilia-Romagna and Tuscany.
In detail, a red alert for bad weather was activated in Tuscany until 2:00 PM on Saturday, March 15.
The situation remains worrying and is evolving in the provinces of Prato, Pistoia, Florence, Pisa, Livorno.
Several campuses of the University of Florence were also closed. The city also saw the closure of museums, cinemas and theatres as a precautionary measure.
The A1 motorway was partially closed and residents of Florence were warned not to travel as fallen trees and floodwaters blocked roads. Authorities were closely monitoring the Arno River, which flows through Florence and Pisa.
Regional governor Eugenio Giani reported a particularly critical situation in Sesto Fiorentino, near Florence, where the Rimaggio stream overflowed its banks, flooding streets.
The national fire brigade said it had received dozens of calls for help after that incident.
Local media reported that a family of four was rescued from a landslide in the town of Badia Prataglia, on the edge of the Casentino valley.
Florence recorded 53mm of rain on Friday morning - more than the average March rainfall in just six hours.
It came after 36 mm fell overnight. Emilia-Romagna also experienced heavy rainfall, affecting Forlì, Ravenna, Bologna and Ferrara.
Rivers in the Apennine mountains swelled above alert levels. In Bologna, authorities ordered evacuations from the ground floor of buildings.
The Emilia-Romagna region has been particularly hit by extreme weather in recent years, with devastating floods in the last two years causing significant loss of life and damage to agricultural businesses.
In 2023, 13 people died after six months of rain fell in 36 hours. There were nearly 300 landslides and 20 rivers burst their banks. In September 2024, Storm Boris saw more than 1,000 people evacuated from their homes.
The Municipality of Marradi informs that, following the intense rainfall of the last few hours, the situation in the territory remains critical and constantly evolving. Currently, some roads are closed and accessible only to emergency services. Provincial roads Sp 74 and Sp 306 remain closed, with access allowed exclusively to emergency vehicles.
"We are facing a very difficult emergency, made even more complicated by the fact that our Municipality is cut off from the rest of Tuscany: at the moment we have about 120 people isolated and 29 people evacuated. The Municipality and the means of the city of the Metropol are working to liberate the isolated areas as soon as possible," local authorities report.
The President of Tuscany, Eugenio Giani, has signed the request to declare a national state of emergency following the wave of bad weather that hit the region and in particular the provinces of Florence and Pisa.
"We are facing, together with local authorities, a very difficult situation, with the great commitment of our Civil Protection and the valuable support of the national one," he said.
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