The port city of Genoa on Italy’s north-eastern coast was in chaos Friday, after flash floods that authorities did not see coming hit overnight, killing one person.
The body of a 57-year-old male nurse was found in a tunnel shortly after midnight, the ANSA news agency reported. Prosecutors opened a manslaughter investigation, following normal procedures in such cases.
Mayor Marco Doria said a day of mourning would be observed for the funerals of the victim.
During the night, three streams running through the city broke their banks, and waters rose as high as 1.8 metres. A fourth stream overflowed on Friday, as heavy rain continued to fall on the city.
Authorities, widely blamed for failing to warn citizens on Thursday, said mathematical models used by weather forecasters failed to predict the storm. A maximum weather alert was belatedly issued at 11 am (0900 GMT) Friday, valid until midnight.
“Now it is not the time for polemics. The situation is critical and will remain so until the first hours of tomorrow,” said Stefano Gallino, an official with regional environment watchdog Arpal. “It’s time for action,” he added.
ANSA said civil protection agency officials and local police officers were attacked by angry crowds as they surveyed the damage in one of the worst affected areas.
Floods dragged away parked cars – including the armoured saloon used by local Cardinal Angelo Bagnasco; a train derailed, lightly injuring two passengers and the driver; about 2,000 households were left with no electricity; schools, museums and several roads were closed.
Retail association Confcommercio said tax breaks should be granted to local businesses to help them recover “from yet another environmental disaster.”
Genoa, a city of almost 600,000 people nestled between the sea and the mountains, was hit by another major flood in 2011, which killed six people.
Environment Minister Gian Luca Galletti said 35 million euros (45 million dollars) had been earmarked following that tragedy for flood prevention measures, but they have not been spent because of legal wrangling between the firms who had bid for the work.
GNA
