Record rains cause floods and deaths in Italy; more than 20 are missing
Bodies found, dozens of people missing, floods, landslides and bridges that collapsed. This is the balance of storm that hit the northern region of Italy in the last 24 hours.
Several regions remain on alert.
Record rainfall caused landslides, landslides and blackouts in the Piedmont. Serious damage also to Liguria, Lombardia e Emilia-Romagna.
The numbers vary by the minute, fortunately also with comforting news.
Rescue teams are constantly busy and by 17pm (12pm Brasília time) they had already saved 11 people, including 5 children, in the area of Cuneo.
Two bridges collapsed and 12 collapsed
Almost at the same time, around 15 pm, two bridges collapsed in the region of Novara e Gattinara. Miraculously, there were no casualties.
The state road that connects Piacenza a Genova is closed due to the storm.
Bridges over state roads, pedestrian walkways, tourist attractions, old medieval bridges. At least 12 collapses were recorded at 18 p.m. And it's a miracle that there were no victims.
A firefighter killed in Val d'Aosta: two victims in Brescia
Bad weather emergency also in Val d'Aosta (1.500 people remained isolated), where a volunteer firefighter from arnad died crushed by a tree during a rescue operation.
In Brescia, a 73-year-old man and an 80-year-old woman died after their car overturned while traveling on a road compromised by bad weather.
Eight hundred interventions by the fire department
Across the North, there were more than 800 calls to the fire department: more than 130 in the province of Varese. Several families had to leave their homes due to the floods.
The rivers are overflowing and rail traffic is suspended across Vercelli e Novara, in the historic line Turin-Milan.
In the area of Biella, where more than 350 millimeters of rain, the Valle Cervo provincial road was closed due to landslides.
The situation does not seem to improve.
Disastrous situation in Piedmont
Reported precipitation across Piedmont exceeded the all-time record since 1958, according to Civil Defense.
In two valleys in the Cuneo area (Vermenagna for France and Tanaro for Liguria) the situation is disastrous.
Rescue teams are working on Valdieri spa, where the bridge connecting the thermal baths to the upper part of the city also collapsed.
