Authorities in the central Italian region of Tuscany said six people were killed and two were missing after rivers overflowed following heavy rains in the region.
There were fears that the Arno River would flood its banks in the historic city of Florence after nearby towns were flooded by Hurricane Siran, but the highest level of the flood passed in mid-morning without any major incidents occurring.
“The situation is still very critical,” said Monia Moni, regional advisor at Civil Protection, referring in particular to Campi Bisinzio, a town about 15 kilometers northwest of Florence.
“(In the rest of the areas), the water has receded, but there is mud and destruction resulting from an event like this,” she added.
About 190 people were forced to evacuate their homes, including 150 in Campi Bezinzio, where ground-floor housing units were damaged, cars were halfway submerged and rescuers were scouring the flooded streets with rubber dinghies.
The Italian government declared a state of emergency and initially allocated five million euros ($5.4 million) to help the most affected areas.
Sky TG24 quoted the region’s governor as saying that another person was missing in the Veneto region in the northeast of the country.
Meteorological warnings remained in effect in a number of Italian regions, with some schools closed a week after the country was exposed to strong winds and heavy rain.
Storm Siran was driven by a strong current that swept from the side of the Atlantic Ocean, which led to heavy rains and strong winds, causing severe floods in northern Ireland and parts of Britain, Belgium, the Netherlands and France.
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