Dhe number of victims from heavy rains and floods in the area around the Italian Adriatic city of Ancona has risen to seven. In the province of the same name, which is located in the Marche region, two other people were also missing, Italian media reported on Friday, citing civil protection. The Ancona provincial government said the flooding was a result of the afternoon’s persistent rains.
As the news portal “Anconatoday” reported, there was 420 millimeters of rain in about three hours. That would be half the amount of precipitation that falls in the region in a year. In the municipalities of Sassoferrato, Serra dè Conti and Arcevia, roads were washed away, bridges collapsed and cars were swallowed up by mud and debris. According to the report, houses were also said to have been flooded.
“Very serious meteorological crisis”
The town of Senigallia on the Adriatic coast of just under 45,000 people ordered all residents to stay indoors and go to the upper floors. “The water is beginning to arrive in the inhabited center.” Numerous people are said to be cut off from the electricity in the affected area. The telephone connections were interrupted in many places.
Marche President Francesco Acquaroli wrote on Facebook that the “very serious meteorological crisis” in the region is a cause for extreme concern. Already on Thursday, civil protection had called on the residents of the coastal town of Senigallia north of Ancona to go to higher-lying areas in view of the flooding.
