Friday, May 30, 2008

Italy declares flood emergency, at least three dead

Reuters: Italy declared an emergency in the northwest of the country on Friday after torrential rainfall caused floods and landslides that have killed at least three people and are putting crops at risk. "We are still in the middle of a crisis and will be so for the next 24 hours," Guido Bertolaso, the head of Italy's Civil Protection service told reporters after an emergency meeting in Turin where the river Po has been at dangerously high levels.

The Turin region of Piedmont and the mountainous Val d'Aosta were put under a "state of emergency" by the government -- a status which allows for extra funds and special measures to be taken to protect lives and infrastructure...

Better weather than today: A view of the Po River from Turin, by Michael Tremblay, who has generously released the image into the public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. Many thanks, Michael

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