Thousands forced to evacuate flooding in Italy – as King Charles expresses his ‘profound shock’
Around 1,000 people have been forced to evacuate in northern Italy as deadly floods hit several countries across Europe.
A low-pressure system named Boris has caused the worst flooding in more than two decades in Romania, Poland, the Czech Republic and Austria in the last week, killing at least 24 people before moving west to Italy.
The latest evacuations come as King Charles said he was “profoundly shocked and saddened to see the destruction and devastation caused by the catastrophic flooding in central Europe”.
The acting president of Emilia-Romagna, Irene Priolo, told local media “it rained non-stop for more than 48 hours, non-stop”.
“Boris has clearly decided to pick on our region,” she said.
Schools were closed and some transport suspended in the region, with three rivers in the region overflowing.
In May 2023, two rounds of torrential rain and mudslides killed 17 people and caused €8.5bn (£7.14bn) worth of damage in Emilia-Romagna, according to regional authorities.
Meanwhile, receding waters across central Europe revealed the huge scale of the destruction caused by the exceptionally heavy rains that began a week ago.
Once again, Emilia Romagna is close to losing everything
By Simone Baglivo, for Sky News in Italy
Sky News was the first international news crew to see the extent of the Emilia Romagna floods. So far, in this region of northern Italy, more than 1,000 citizens have been evacuated and two are missing. Schools have been suspended and train lines and roads have been closed.
We joined a Guardia di Finanza reconnaissance helicopter looking for people in danger in the worst-affected areas, between the provinces of Forli and Ravenna, which are completely flooded and isolated. This includes the towns of Faenza, Gambettola, Lugo, and Traversara di Bagnacavallo, where some have been rescued from rooftops and where two people are feared dead.
We saw four helicopters from the Italian Air Force, fire department, and health service in the Traversara neighbourhood trying to rescue people who had climbed to the tops of their houses to escape the water. Nearby, rivers “exploded” because of Storm Boris, creating a view which was both apocalyptic and shocking.
Hundreds of rescue officers have been sent here from other regions but there are hardly any signs of life. Last year, 17 people in this area died in flooding, which caused damage worth an estimated €8.5bn (£7.14bn).
Now, once again, Emilia Romagna is close to losing everything.
Czech interior minister Vit Rakusan said the number of people killed had risen to five in the north-east Czech Republic, and that eight people were still missing.
Authorities have also reported seven deaths each in Poland and Romania, and five in Austria.
In Hungary, flood waters continued to rise on Thursday as authorities shut down roads, rail stations and ferries along the Danube River, which rose by nearly one metre in 24 hours.
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Meanwhile, the King said in a statement on Thursday: “Many people in the United Kingdom have strong, enduring and personal ties to the region, and, together with them, my wife and I send our deepest and most heartfelt condolences to all those who have so tragically lost their loved ones, their homes and their livelihoods.
“We have immense admiration for the sheer courage and dedication of the emergency services across the region who have clearly worked relentlessly to provide desperately-needed support, relief and assistance to the countless people whose lives and properties have been dreadfully disrupted.”