A storm that brought heavy rain and violent winds to Northern Italy overnight and early Tuesday sent rapid floods through central Milan and caused Lake Como to breach its banks.

Several waterside bars were flooded at the lake — a popular tourist attraction — while civil protection authorities were forced to pump out water from areas nearby and erect mobile barriers.

The Seveso, a river that runs through the municipalities of Como, Monza e Brianza and Milan, also broke its banks, according to Italy’s civil protection agency.

Parts of Milan became inaccessible, while social media posts showed water gushing down stairs into underground train stations and pedestrians falling down or clinging to poles during strong gusts of wind.

The city’s safety councilor, Marco Granelli, said the winds felled trees, tore down scaffolding and ripped off roof tiles. Electricity was cut in several parts of the city as a precaution while authorities worked to clean up downed power lines.

Tuscany, in Central Italy, was also affected by heavy rainfall.

Eugenio Giani, president of the region, said Tuscany experienced floods, fallen trees and landslides after 257 millimeters of rain fell in 24 hours — more than the monthly average rainfall for this time of year. A tree fell on a car while it was moving, but the driver escaped unharmed.

Italy is particularly vulnerable to climate change due to its geography, which puts it at high risk of landslides, and because it is surrounded by the warming Mediterranean Sea, which increases the chance of strong storms.

Venice in the northeast also narrowly escaped flooding, according to the city’s Mayor Luigi Brugnaro. Strong winds blowing towards the north in the Adriatic Sea pushed water up into the city.

Brugnaro said without the MOSE system of floodgates, which was active all night and throughout the day, the city would have experienced “record flooding” with 70% of its buildings under high water. The MOSE, which consists of 78 floodgates between the city lagoon system and the Adriatic sea, has been in place since 2020.

Rain is expected to fall all over the country throughout the rest of the week. Italy’s civil protection agency put all areas of the Veneto region, which includes Venice, under red alert until Wednesday.

The storm comes during a busy holiday season with more than 8 million Italians expected to travel this week.

This year has been particularly deadly for flooding in Italy. In May, flooding in the northern Italian region of Emilia Romagna killed at least 14 people. More than 20 rivers broke their banks, causing hundreds of landslides, submerging homes and devastating farmland.(SD-Agencies)

Words to Learn 相关词汇

【抓紧】zhuājǐn cling to stick onto or hold something or someone tightly

【山体滑坡】shāntǐ huápō landslide a mass of rock and earth moving suddenly and quickly down a steep slope

一场暴风雨周一夜间周二早上席卷了意大利北部，米兰市中心迅速被洪水淹没，旅游胜地科莫湖也决堤了。

湖边几家酒吧被洪水淹没，民防当局被迫从附近地区抽水，并架设了移动护栏。

意大利民防机构称，流经科莫、蒙萨和布里安萨省和米兰的塞维索河也决堤了。

米兰部分地区无法通行，社交媒体上的帖子显示，大水从楼梯涌入地铁站，行人在强风中摔倒或紧紧抓住电线杆。

该市安全委员会委员马可•格拉内利说，大风吹倒树木，刮倒脚手架，还刮跑了屋顶瓦片。作为预防措施，当局切断了该市多个地区的电力供应，正努力清理刮倒的电线。

意大利中部的托斯卡纳也受到了暴雨影响。

托斯卡纳大区主席尤金尼奥•贾尼说，该地区24小时内降雨量达到257毫米，超过这个季节的月平均降雨量，引发了洪水、树木倒塌和山体滑坡。一棵树砸到一辆行驶中的汽车，所幸司机安然无恙。

意大利的地理位置使其极易遭受山体滑坡，而周围变暖的地中海也增加了强风暴发生的几率，因此该国受气候变化影响很大。

东北部的威尼斯市长路易吉•布鲁纳罗称，该市也险些被洪水淹没。从亚得里亚海吹来的强风将海水推向内陆。布鲁纳罗说，如果没有日夜守护的MOSE闸门系统，该市将遭遇“创纪录的洪水”，70% 的建筑将被淹没。MOSE系统在城市泻湖和亚得里亚海之间安装了78 个水闸，2020年起投入使用。

预计本周剩余时间意大利全国将持续降雨。至本周三，民防机构将包括威尼斯在内的整个威内托大区列入红色警戒状态。

这场暴雨发生在繁忙的假日，预计本周有800多万意大利人外出旅行。今年意大利的洪灾尤其严重。北部艾米利亚•罗马涅大区5月的洪水造成至少14人死亡，当时20多条河流决堤，造成数百处山体滑坡，房屋被淹，农田被毁。

(Translated by Debra)