Italy is experiencing deadly flooding as a flooded river washes debris up against a bridge.
ROME Authorities said that floodwaters brought on by heavy rainfall in central Italy early on Friday had killed at least 10 people and left four others, including two children, missing.
The nation’s national fire agency, Vigili del Fuoco , reported that around 200 firefighters were at work throughout the night rescuing dozens of people who sought refuge on tree and house rooftops.
The organization shared videos on Twitter of emergency responders working in the eastern Marche region town of Senigallia. In the provinces of Ancona and Pesaro-Urbino, another 400 interventions were made.
The Misa River, which flows through Senigallia , reached its high early on Friday morning as more than 15 inches of rain fell in central Italy, the local municipality said on Facebook.
The concentration of rain during four hours, including a heavy 15-minute spell, was the highest in hundreds of years, according to climatologist Massimiliano Fazzini, speaking to Italian state television, according to the Associated Press.
He claimed that the incident was extreme rather than unique.
Four people were remained missing as of late Friday morning, including two youngsters and a boy who was swept from his mother’s arms in Barbara, according to the AP.
The mayor of Barbara in the Marche region, Riccardo Pasqualini, said on Italian state radio, “It wasn’t a water bomb, it was a tsunami.”
Firefighters also combed through the muck and downed trees in the Serra de Conti neighborhood in search of the missing.
Multiple municipal buildings and schools in the town were shuttered by Senigallia Mayor Massimo Olivetti . Additionally, it was suggested to residents to refrain from drinking tap water until all safety inspections had been completed.
On Thursday, Italys Department of Civil Protection issued an orange signal for areas of central and southern Italy, including the regions of Campania and Lazio. The warning was still in effect on Friday since more rain and wind were predicted to fall throughout the day.
