Heavy torrential rains, following extensive drought, have caused severe flooding and landslides in the North and East parts of Italy.
It was reported on Thursday by the country’s Civil Protection department that the banks of at least 20 rivers had burst, causing 280 landslides.
The Italian power manufacturer and distributor, Enel, said that about 27,000 people had lost access to gas and electricity due to the events.
The region of Emilia Romagna is the one hit the worst, with parts of the neighbouring Le Marche also heavily affected. 200 hundred firefighters have been mobilized for rescue missions in Le Marche and 600 in Emilia Romagna, where this weekend’s scheduled Formula 1 race was cancelled.
CNN reports that at least 9 fatalities have been reported so far in the events, while at least 20,000 have been displaced.
Meteorologists have stated concerns that the prolonged drought prior to the events affected the ground’s water absorption capability.
Finally, the intensity of such extreme events has increased during the past two decades, with NASA reporting a strong relationship between water-related disasters and rising temperatures in a study published earlier this year in the Nature Water journal.
Sources: edition.cnn.com, www.bbc.com
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