At least two people were killed in France and a stretch of elevated highway collapsed in Italy as heavy rains pounded the region over the weekend, trapping travelers, downing trees and unleashing mudslides on picturesque sites along the Mediterranean shore.
A 30-meter (100-foot) section of highway along a viaduct near the flooded Italian coastal city of Savona collapsed Sunday, authorities said. In images carried on Italian television, rescuers could be seen searching the area for possible casualties. News reports said a landslide on a rain-soaked hillside might have triggered the collapse.
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At least two people were killed in France and a stretch of elevated highway collapsed in Italy as heavy rains pounded the region over the weekend, trapping travelers, downing trees and unleashing mudslides on picturesque sites along the Mediterranean shore.
A rescue boat sank while bringing three people to shore near the French town of Muy, and one of them died, the Var regional administration said. Another person was found dead in a car in the town of Cabasse.
Rain-swollen rivers and flooded streets plagued Italy, where it has been raining, sometimes heavily, in much of the country nearly every day for about two weeks.
Venice was partially flooded, but the high tide’s level of nearly 1.3 meters (4.3 feet) in late morning was not unusual for the lagoon city accustomed to the phenomenon of “acqua alta,’’ (high water). That level was nearly 60 centimeters (two feet) lower than the exceptionally high wind-driven tide that devastated the art-rich tourist destination earlier this month. Venetians and visitors walked on strategically placed raised walkways or sloshed in boots through water that quickly receded to mid-calf level, then ankle-level.
France’s interior minister visited the affected area Sunday, as authorities worked to restore electricity to thousands of homes.
A man walks on a trestle bridge as high water floods Venice, northern Italy, Sunday, Nov. 24, 2019. The high water reached peak of 135cm (4.42ft) early Sunday. (Andrea MerolaANSA via AP)
Flooding in Turin, a city in northwest Italy, prompted cancellation of a marathon. In France, the Nice airport was briefly closed Saturday. Rivers leading from the Alps to the French Riviera broke their banks, and sirens rang out in resort towns. Images on French media showed cars peeking above inundated streets and waves slamming onto roadsides.
Workers install trestle bridge as high water floods Venice, northern Italy, Sunday, Nov. 24, 2019. The high water reached peak of 135cm (4.42ft) early Sunday. (Andrea MerolaANSA via AP)
A rescue boat sank while bringing three people to shore near the French town of Muy, and one of them died, the Var regional administration said. Another person was found dead in a car in the town of Cabasse.
French authorities are searching for two people missing in the floods, Nice Mayor Christian Estrosi said Sunday.
In Italy, rescuers searched Sunday for a woman swept away by the surging Bormida river in the north.
Firefighters on a dinghy evacuate people from house in Carde', near Cuneo, in the Piedmont region of northern Italy, after floods, Sunday, Nov. 24, 2019. Heavy rains and bad weather have been hitting most of Italy, causing river areas to overflood and isolate hamlets. (Italian Firefighters Vigili del Fuoco via AP)
Rain-swollen rivers and flooded streets plagued Italy, where it has been raining, sometimes heavily, in much of the country nearly every day for about two weeks.
In Turin, the Po River overran its banks and flooded the medieval quarter and a popular riverside strolling area known as the Murazzi.
Some 150 people were evacuated from homes in Liguria, Italy’s hilly northwest coastal region. The region struggled with mudslides that blocked several roads, isolating hamlets. In Genoa, the region’s principal city, the charming neighborhood of Boccadasse, a former fishing village with pastel-painted houses, was flooded after the sea rushed over retaining walls and onto the seaside road.
An evacuated dog sits in a dinghy as firefighters evacuate a house in Carde', near Cuneo, in the Piedmont region of northern Italy, after floods, Sunday, Nov. 24, 2019. Heavy rains and bad weather have been hitting most of Italy, causing river areas to overflood and isolate hamlets. (Italian Firefighters Vigili del Fuoco via AP)
Venice was partially flooded, but the high tide’s level of nearly 1.3 meters (4.3 feet) in late morning was not unusual for the lagoon city accustomed to the phenomenon of “acqua alta,’’ (high water). That level was nearly 60 centimeters (two feet) lower than the exceptionally high wind-driven tide that devastated the art-rich tourist destination earlier this month. Venetians and visitors walked on strategically placed raised walkways or sloshed in boots through water that quickly receded to mid-calf level, then ankle-level.
In parts of the south, cars churned through water higher than their tires, and several motorists had to be rescued from their vehicles in flooded streets in Reggio Calabria, a city in the southern ‘’toe’’ of the Italian boot-shaped peninsula, RAI state TV said.
In Puglia, the ‘’heel’’ of the peninsula, authorities in the Baroque city of Lecce ordered as a precaution on Sunday the closing of parks and cemeteries for fear that storm-battered trees might crash onto visitors, the Italian news agency ANSA said.
Municipality police seal off a stairway leading to the river banks as the water levels of the river Po rise, in the Murazzi area of Turin, northern Italy, Sunday, Nov. 24, 2019. Heavy rains and bad weather have been hitting most of Italy, causing river areas to flood and isolate hamlets in most part of northern Italy. (Alessandro Di MarcoANSA via AP)
France’s interior minister visited the affected area Sunday, as authorities worked to restore electricity to thousands of homes.
French national weather service Meteo France said the area absorbed the equivalent of two months of average rainfall in 24 hours.
Tourists stand on a trestle bridge as high water floods Venice, northern Italy, Sunday, Nov. 24, 2019. The high water reached peak of 135cm (4.42ft) early Sunday. (Andrea MerolaANSA via AP)
A man walks on a trestle bridge as high water floods Venice, northern Italy, Sunday, Nov. 24, 2019. The high water reached peak of 135cm (4.42ft) early Sunday. (Andrea MerolaANSA via AP)