Heavy rains, floods hit Italy
At least six dead in Tuscany
Torrential rain in Italy triggered flooding that killed at least six people Sunday in the Tuscan port of Leghorn, including a family of four who were trapped by rising water in a basement. Two persons were reported missing.
The Italian news agency ANSA said the bodies of a four-year-old boy, his parents and his grandfather were found in the flooded basement of their two-family home. Before dying, the grandfather managed to save the boy’s sister, state TV RaiNews24 reported.
Leghorn province’s interior ministry official, Anna Maria Manzone, told Sky TG24 TV that by late Sunday afternoon two people were still missing. Sky reported that the six dead included two elderly people died a hillside hamlet on the outskirts of Leghorn.
“The city is literally devastated,” said Leghorn Mayor Filippo Nogarin, adding that “a crazy amount of rain” pummelled the area in just a few hours.
Strong winds toppled trees and parked cars were nearly submerged by floodwaters that also left streets clogged with mud.
Nogarin appealed for volunteers to help. The city has a population of 170,000 and is a popular spot for travellers catching ferries to the islands of Elba and Sardinia.
Train service was interrupted in parts of the Tuscan coastal area along the Tyrrhenian Sea.