Heavy rain and snowfall wreak havoc in Italy

Italy was hit by heavy rain and snowfall on Sunday that caused landslides, flooding and a high risk of avalanches.  For 48 hours firefighters have been working in the Centre-North in rescue operations in Veneto, Friuli Venezia Giulia, Emilia-Romagna, Piedmont, Lombardy and Tuscany regions. Over 2,200 interventions have been carried out.  For safety reasons the Brenner railway line is closed between Bolzano and the Italian border and since yesterday evening the Brenner motorway has also been closed, with Austria currently not accessible from the Italian side.  

In various areas of the Dolomites the avalanche risk is very high and in the most affected regions 80 to 140 cm of snow has fallen, with the strong wind making the situation even more difficult. In the area of Modena, in Emilia-Romagna, 60 families have been evacuated due to the overflowing of the Panaro river due to heavy rain.