Italy Storm Kills At Least 10 People in the Central Marche Region; Widespread Rainfall and Flooding Reported

Flash flooding due to heavy rainfall killed at least 10 people in central Marche region of Italy last week.

Local authorities on Friday, September 16, confirmed the overnight torrential caused floodwaters to rise quickly, prompting rescuers to continue their operations to find missing people.

Multiple sources reported that the raging floods inundated the regional capital city of Ancona and other towns in the region.

Authorities were reportedly not expecting of an inclement weather of such magnitude due to the fact that it is stronger from what was previously forecasted by meteorologists.

The catastrophic impact of the weather event can be seen through damaged properties, including vehicles.

Furthermore, the rising water levels also forced a number of residents to evacuate and seek safety on higher grounds.

Experts also blamed the inaccuracy of the forecast with climate change.

In particular, the rising temperatures brought by global warming are making it hard for meteorologists to predict even the weather.

The wet weather in Italy comes several months after a massive heat wave blanketed the Northern Hemisphere, causing record-breaking heat in the UK and multiple European countries.

Italy Flash Flood

The Italy storm struck several villages in the region with a rainfall amount greater than that was normally received in a year.

This comes after around 400 mm. (15.75 inches) of rain fell in a matter of two to three hours, the national civil protection agency said, as cited by Reuters.

In the village of Cantiano, a local resident told Reuters that her fruit shop was turned upside down.

The village, which is close to the nearby Umbria region, was left with widespread mud on the streets, leaving a trail of destruction.

Ludovico Caverni, the mayor of Serra Sant'Abbondio village, told RAI state radio the event was like an earthquake, as cited by Reuters.

In the city of Ancona, the agency's head Fabrizio Curcio, met with local authorities to assess the damage of natural disaster.

In the coastal town of Senigallia, fire brigades released footage showing rescuers attempting to evacuate people in the seaside area, while some were trying to clear debris from an underpass.

Climate Change

Hundreds of firefighters were deployed in the area and rescue dozens of people, with some climbing on roofs and trees to escape the floods, the fire brigade says.

In addition, Paola Pino d'Astore, an expert from the Italian Society of Environmental Geology (SIGEA), told the UK media outlet that the floods were triggered by climate change and were not easy to predict.

Many have attributed the post-drought flooding with climate change, a topic which was placed on the sideline during Italy's election campaign, according to VOA News.

Marche's civil protection head, Stefano Aguzzi, said they were given a normal alert for rain but no one anticipated the destructive torrential rain and flash flooding, according to The Daily Herald.

For decades, scientists have warned state and industry leaders to mitigate the impact of the climate crisis, which has been linked to several extreme weather events in recent years.