Firefighters early on Sunday said they found in the area of Pianoro near Bologna the lifeless body of a 20-year-old man reported missing overnight after his car was washed away when the Zena rive broke its banks as the city of Bologna and vast areas of Emilia Romagna were hit by floods.
Almost all rivers in the region were above 'alert level 3' as torrential rain created a "worse situation than in May 2023", said Interim Governor Irene Priolo, when Emilia Romagna was hit by flooding and landslides linked to unprecedented rainfall that left 17 people dead and caused billions of euros of damage.
In total 13 municipalities were in a "critical situation", including all of Bologna, Reggio Emilia and Modena, after "175 millimetres of water fell in just a few hours", said Priolo Overnight, Ravenna, Modena and Reggio Emilia were hit by floods with heavy rainfall also making the situation critical on all roads of the Apennines in the region.
In particular, the town of Bagnocavallo, near Ravenna, already hit by previous floods, including last month, was entirely evacuated.
Priolo urged residents to follow mayors' instructions, sheltering in place on the top floors of residential buildings close to rivers.
Bologna Mayor Matteo Lepore posted an appeal on social media not to go out or use cars and for residents to stay on the top floors of buildings close to the Ravone stream which broke its banks on Saturday night.
"More than 80 millimetres of rain have fallen in four hours: don't go out and don't use your cars", Lepore wrote after days of bad weather that caused floods in most of the city and the surrounding areas.
Meanwhile, all of Italy, from North to South, was pummelled by heavy rain and storms, in particular Sicily which had been previously gripped by a severe drought for months.
In Licata, near the city of Agrigento, the Salso river broke its banks in several areas and residents had to abandon their homes.
Catania's roads also turned into rivers due to the torrential rain that hit the city on Saturday.
And intense rain also pummelled Veneto and the Marche with an 'orange' bad weather alert level on Sunday affecting most of Emilia Romagna, parts of Calabria, large portions of Veneto and Basilicata and the south-eastern area of Lombardy and 13 other regions on a less severe 'yellow' alert.
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