Milan river in 'controlled flooding' op

(ANSA) - Milan, July 29 - The river Seveso in the northern city of Milan returned to below flood level on Tuesday morning after bursting its banks as a result of heavy rainfall in the area, civil protection authorities said. Municipal staff worked to control the flooding, which began at 4:47 am and ended at 6:07 am local time.
    The river returned to below danger level at 7:45 am as the civil protection department reported that the weather was showing slow signs of improvement.
    Meanwhile on Tuesday morning heavy rainfall in the Varese area northwest of Milan caused Lake Varese to flood in several places.
    Firefighters took numerous calls concerning flooded properties and uprooted trees in the area.
    Italy is in the grips of a spell of unseasonally bad weather with thunderstorms and heavy rain affecting or threatening much of the peninsula.