Two trains were left stranded in the Genoa area on Monday as the flood nightmare that the northwestern city has endured since late last week continued.
The trains were blocked by lines being flooded at the towns of Campo Ligure and Rossiglione. The authorities launched operations to take the passengers away by bus, but this was complicated by many roads being flooded too. A section of the Genoa-Milan train line was also closed after a river burst its banks. Flash floods hit the city on the night between Thursday and Friday, killing one man and leaving the city covered in a thick layer of mud, with many homes and shops ripped open with washed-up cars and other debris.
There is deep anger in the port city that no alarm was raised and that preventative action was not taken after the 2011 Genoa floods in which six people died. Insult was added to injury by reports that several city officials have been paid bonuses for their work to prevent disasters by improving security around Genoa's many water bodies.
There is anger at the fact that 35 million euros set aside for flood-prevention work after the 2011 floods was not spent because of legal wrangles and bureaucracy.
"Genoa is the symbol of a country blocked by rules and this can have disastrous consequences," the head of of Italy's anti-corruption authority, Raffaele Cantone, told State broadcaster RAI.
"Reflection is required. The situation is emblematic. The tenders for the works had been issue and then there were appeals that blocked them.
"Some people in Italy live off appeals". With more rain forecast, the city will remain on maximum flood alert at least until midnight. Genoa Mayor Marco Doria has said he is may resign after coming under intense fire over the crisis.
Premier Matteo Renzi, meanwhile, has pledged to invest two billion euros to correct the "hydrogeological instability" that has contributed to several flood disasters in many parts of Italy in recent years. Renzi also thanked the young "angels of mud" volunteers who have been helping clear up Genoa.
"I will use the same determination to sweep aside the mud of bad bureaucracy, delays and wrangles," the premier said via his Facebook page.
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