Sluices prevent flood wave in Florence

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• In Tuscany and the Emilia-Romagna region, the danger of flooding has not yet been averted.
• Thanks to floodgates, the Renaissance city of Florence has been spared from the floods in Tuscany.
• A newborn baby was among a total of seven people rescued from their homes near Pisa.

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The situation was particularly critical in Pisa on Saturday, while the water level of the Arno in the regional capital Florence had already receded slightly. The Arno flows through both cities and empties into the Mediterranean not far from Pisa. The situation is also still critical in the Emilia-Romagna region a little further north.

In Florence, the water had almost reached the arches of the Ponte Vecchio - the medieval bridge - and the entrance to the Uffizi Gallery - the world-famous collection of paintings - on Friday, as the newspaper "Corriere della Sera" reported. However, the situation in the city is now improving again, said Mayor Sara Funaro, according to the Ansa news agency. However, many communities in the greater Florence area are still cut off.

Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni promised help to those affected by the storms in Italy. She also thanked the rescue workers on X on Friday. Meteorologist Bernardo Gozzini described the rainfall as unusual for the time of year. In Florence, it had rained twice as much in two days as the monthly average for March.

"A storm like this is more typical for November, when the sea is still warm and water is evaporating," he told the newspaper "La Repubblica". "You could almost say there was no winter. The Mediterranean couldn't cool down," he added. It is perhaps a little bold to attribute today's storms to climate change with certainty. But 2024 was the warmest year ever.