One dead as flooding hits Italy’s northeast flatlands

ROME: Italy´s northeastern Emilia-Romagna region was again partially under water on Sunday after heavy overnight rain and flooding that killed one person, in a flatland battered by extreme weather as recently as last month.

Firefighters said they had found the body of a missing person in Botteghino di Zocca, immediately south of Bologna. News media identified the victim as a 20-year-old man whose car was swept away by the rush of water.

In the city of Bologna and nearby areas, some 175 millimetres of rain fell in one day, compared to the historical average of 70 millimetres for the entire month of October, regional authorities said.

Bologna and four provinces in the northeastern plains area were placed under a “red alert” until midnight Sunday, although rains had tapered off.

“The extraordinary amount of rain has caused the flooding of numerous areas of Bologna, with the streets of the city flooded and the sewer and drainage networks unable to absorb the water,” authorities said in a statement.