Authorities were still searching for a grandmother and a five-month-old baby on Wednesday after flooding hit the Italian town of Montecatini Val di Cecina, with the search hampered by damage caused by runoff from rivers that had swollen in the aftermath of the downpour.
The search for a grandmother and a five-month-old child, German tourists who were swept away by rising waters on Tuesday, was still ongoing on Wednesday. The pair were in a house in Montecatini Val di Cecina in Tuscany, where floodwaters had come in. Earlier, the child's parents and grandfather had been rescued by taking shelter from the flood on the roof of a building.
Divers, dogs and drones take part in the operation.
“There is a huge amount of rubble left, as well as fallen trees. This makes access difficult,” Giorgio Ciappei, commander of the Italian firefighters, told Reuters on Wednesday. The search is also being carried out from the air.
According to local media, a family of tourists from Germany arrived in Montecatini Val di Cecina about 10 days ago, where they rented a house.
Catastrophic destruction
On Monday, Tuscany was hit by a wave of extreme rainfall. As reported by the president of the region, Eugenio Giani, in six hours, locally up to 226 liters of water per square meter fell. Among other things, the Sterza River burst its banks, flooding Montecatini Val di Cecina and other nearby towns.
The wave of water destroyed part of the town. As the mayor of Montecatini Val di Cecina said on social media, the condition of some roads is critical. “Such destruction has never happened in our recent history,” wrote Francesco Auriemma.
Reuters, Corriere.it, ENEX, PisaToday, Punto Radio, Il Fatto Quotidiano
Main image source: Reuters