Storm alert for nine regions in Italy

Rome, Sep 5 (IANS) Italy has been battered by storms in the last few hours, with risk warnings issued for several regions, according to the country’s Civic Protection Agency.

The agency issued a storm alert for nine regions on Wednesday, including northern Piedmont, Lombardy, central Marche and Umbria, and southern Campania, Xinhua news agency reported.

Northwest Piedmont and southern Calabria were also put under an additional high risk alert for flooding.

The warning came after streets flooded in several cities on Tuesday, causing disruption to local transport.

In Rome, the landmark Constantine Arch was damaged by lightning during a thunderstorm.

However, the damage was limited, and the fragments were retrieved and secured as soon as the storm ended on Tuesday night. Meanwhile, maintenance work began on Wednesday morning, according to the agency managing the site.

Heavy rains are expected to continue throughout the week.

Local authorities have issued an orange warning (second most severe level) for hydrogeological risk in some areas of central Tuscany and the Emilia Romagna region on Thursday, while the municipality of Venice put the lagoon city under red alert (the highest level).

In August, the European Commission approved a 447-million-euro allocation from the European Union Solidarity Fund (EUSF) to help Italy offset costs associated with severe storms and flooding in Italy last year.

The funds, on Tuesday, come as Italy swelters through the third extended heatwave in three years. Each year, the country has struggled with droughts, floods, wildfires, and landslides.

This year, water shortages have spread across the southern part of the country; repeated fires have occurred in central and southern Italy, as well as urban areas including Rome; and farmer’s union Coldiretti has recorded a negative impact on agricultural production nationwide.

Last week, a waterspout that climatologists said was likely caused by warming ocean temperatures sank a 56-metre luxury yacht, killing seven.

Earlier in the month, an Indian flower picker died in the fields of Latina, near Rome, during an intense hot spell, hitting