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Rome declares state of emergency after rain batters Italy
Rome declared a state of emergency as the swollen Tiber river threatened to flood and the death toll from the heavy rains battering much of Italy rose to four.
- Agencies
- Published: 08:42 December 13, 2008
Rome: Rome declared a state of emergency as the swollen Tiber river threatened to flood and the death toll from the heavy rains battering much of Italy rose to four.
The Civil Protection Department said on Friday the Tiber had risen about 5 metres in the past two days and warned it might burst its banks.
Officials evacuated Gypsy camps along the Tiber's banks and boats broke loose from their moorings in the surging water.
The smaller Aniene river, which flows into the Tiber, already overflowed, forcing officials to close down some streets in Rome and evacuate hundreds of people.
"It is as if there has been an earthquake," Rome Mayor Gianni Alemanno told the daily La Repubblica.
Italy has been hit by days of bad weather, and TV footage has shown entire neighbourhoods flooded or submerged by mud.
Downpours disrupted traffic Friday from Milan in the north to Palermo, Sicily, in the south, as trains were delayed and many streets were flooded or blocked by fallen trees.
Flood also covered Venice's lowest parts, including the landmark St. Mark's Square,
while Alpine rescuers saved a group of boy scouts who had been trapped on Mount Etna.
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