Florence, Pisa on flood alert as heavy rain closes museums and roads
Residents have been evacuated as several major rivers threaten to burst their banks
Heavy rainfall across Italy's Tuscany and Emilia-Romagna regions has triggered flood warnings, prompting school closures and evacuations.
Several major rivers surpassed alert levels on Friday, raising concerns of widespread flooding.
In Tuscany, schools in several cities, including Florence, were closed, as red alerts were issued.
Several campuses of the University of Florence were also shut.
The city also saw the closure of museums, cinemas, and theatres as a precautionary measure.
The A1 motorway was partially closed and Florence’s residents warned not to travel as fallen trees and floodwater blocked roads.
Authorities closely monitored the Arno River, which flows through Florence and Pisa, anticipating it to crest later on Friday.
Regional governor Eugenio Giani reported a particularly critical situation in Sesto Fiorentino, near Florence, where the Rimaggio stream overflowed, inundating 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 saw 53mm of rain fall on Friday morning – more than its average March rainfall in just six hours.
It came after 36mm fell overnight.
Emilia-Romagna also experienced intense rainfall, impacting 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 on Thursday in anticipation of potential flooding.
The Emila-Romagna region has been particularly hard hit by extreme weather in recent years, with devastating floods in the past two years causing significant loss of life and damage to agricultural businesses.
In 2023, 13 people died after six months’ worth 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.