Catastrophic floods in Italy force thousands of people to evacuate

About 5,000 people were evacuated from their homes and at least five were killed after torrential downpours hit the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna, prompting catastrophic flooding across at least three dozen towns.

Responders are searching for people still trapped by floodwaters, with news footage showing residents getting airlifted out of flooded buildings and rescue teams transporting people in dinghies through submerged streets.

Italian Civil Protection Minister Nello Musemeci said that some areas received an average of 200 millimeters (7.9 inches) of rain in only 36 hours, while other areas recorded 500 millimeters (19.7 inches) during that time.

“If you consider that this region averages 1,000 millimeters (39.3 inches) of rain in a year, you realize the impact that these rains have had in these hours,” Musemeci said during a briefing.

More than 20 rivers have burst their banks across the region, causing more than 280 landslides, according to the Civil Protection department.

The torrential downpour followed a long period of drought in the region. Drought conditions, which have grown worse as the climate changes, reduce the capacity for the land to absorb water and as a result leads to more severe flooding.

Although no rainfall is expected on Thursday, the Emilia-Romagna region has confirmed a red alert over the whole of Romagna, the plains of Bologna and Modena and the mountain hills of central Emilia and Bologna for continued flooding, the department said.