Heavy rainfall and thunderstorms reached the entire Italian peninsula on Wednesday. The Protezione Civile has issued six regions with an orange alert, while a yellow warning remains in force across a further fifteen regions. In Jesolo on the Venetian Adriatic coast, a 46-year-old man died in the morning when a tree fell onto his car. The fire service has already recorded more than 370 call-outsnationwide.
Orange alert in six regions
The orange alert is in force on Wednesday for Liguria, parts of Piedmont, Veneto, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Lazio and Campania. This is based on the Bollettino di Criticità issued by the Protezione Civile the previous day, which forecast thunderstorms and an elevated hydrogeological risk for 21 October. In Piedmont, the warning specifically concerns the catchment areas of the Scrivia, Belbo and Bormida rivers. Yellow warnings are in force for, among others, the Toscana, Umbria, Abruzzo, Molise, Puglia, Basilicata, Calabria and Sicily.
One dead in Jesolo, flooding from Lazio to Sardinia
The focus of reporting on Wednesday morning is Jesolo in the Province of Venice. A 46-year-old member of the armed forces was on his way to work when a tree fell onto his car in Via Roma Destra. Emergency responders were unable to save him.
In Latina , the rainfall has flooded schools, residential properties and shopping centres. There has been a power outage in the area around the Goretti hospital since three o'clock in the morning. In Sardinia, a family of five had to be evacuated in Siniscola in the Province of Nuoro after water surrounded their home. In Calabria , the Strada Statale 107 between Crotone and Cosenza is closed. In Strongoli, San Giovanni in Fiore, Cotronei and Cerenzia, roads are either submerged or at risk from debris.
Coastal roads closed, MOSE protects Venice
In Liguria, the coastal road Aurelia between Celle Ligure and Albissola is closed, while debris from a rockfall is blocking the provincial road SP 27 near Finale Ligure. The orange warning for central-eastern Liguria was lifted at midday, with the yellow warning remaining in effect. Schools in La Spezia and Anzio remain closedon Wednesday.
For Venice, the Protezione Civile has activated the flood defence system MOSE for the first time this season. A tidal peak of 90 centimetres is forecast for Thursday at 9:35, with a further peak of the same height predicted for Friday at 9:55. The Protezione Civile is continuously documenting the current situation via its official map, while Vivere in Italien brings together the most important warnings on its own service page.
