Florence and Pisa on alert as flooding hits northern Italy

There has been flooding and landslides in parts of northern Italy as red alerts cover cities including Florence and Pisa.

Torrential rain prompted the alerts for parts of Tuscany and Emilia-Romagna, with heavy and persistent rainfall expected into the afternoon on Friday.

Tuscany’s president said local rescue and health services were on high alert and advised residents to exercise “the utmost attention and caution”.

Almost a month’s worth of rain fell in Florence on Friday morning while landslides and mudslides were reported in Bologna, where some residents were evacuated on Thursday evening ahead of heavy rain overnight.

No casualties have so far been reported, and the city said the worst of the flooding had passed by mid-morning on Friday.

A family of four was rescued from a landslide in Badia Prataglia, Tuscany on Thursday evening, according to local media.

The national fire brigade said it had received dozens of calls after the Rimaggio flooded and flowed through the Sesto Fiorentino area on Florence’s northern outskirts.

In Pisa, flood defences were being erected along the Arno river as local authorities warned it had surpassed the first flood-risk level.

Roads were also affected by flooding and fallen trees, with residents in Florence advised against all travel after the A1 motorway was partially closed.

Schools were shut in more than 60 municipalities in Tuscany, local media reported, as were several campuses of the University of Florence.

Florence has seen more than double its average March rainfall of 61mm in the past three days.

It saw more than 53mm of rain in just six hours on Friday morning, after a further 36mm had fallen overnight.

The red weather alerts – indicating serious risk of extreme and widespread flooding – were set to continue throughout the day.

Further heavy rain and thunderstorms are expected to move across the northern half of Italy into Saturday, before drier weather begins to move in.

An area of high pressure in the north-east Atlantic has in recent days blocked the path of low pressure systems which normally pass to the north-west of the UK, sending them through the Mediterranean instead.

Some rivers in Emilia-Romagna were already swollen after previous downpours.

More than 1,000 people were evacuated from their homes in the north-eastern region in September 2024 after it was battered by Storm Boris.

The previous year, 13 people died in the region after six months’ worth of rainfall fell in a day and a half. Twenty rivers burst their banks and there were some 280 landslides.

The devastating floods brought by Storm Boris were made worse by climate change, scientists at the World Weather Attribution group said.

Europe is the fastest-warming continent – which not only brings much more frequent and intense heatwaves, but also more extreme rainfall.

A hotter world means the atmosphere can hold more moisture, which can lead to heavier rainfall.