• by IPS Correspondents (rome)
• Thursday, November 10, 1994
• Inter Press Service

ROME, Nov 10 (IPS) - The most violent storms in 80 years have shown no sign of letting up in northern Italy, wreaking further devastation on rich agricultural and industrial zones Thursday.

Piamonte, Liguria and Lombardy have been hit hardest by the week-long storm, with damage reminiscent of World War II, estimated at 3.6 billion dollars.

The bad weather has begun to affect the central regions of the country, especially Lazio, and Rome has been lashed by torrential rains since early Thursday. Weather forecasts see no improvement for the next few days.

According to the most recent Civil Defence bulletin, the storm has left 63 dead, 20 missing and 75 injured. A total of 371 towns have been affected by the storm that has left 10,308 flood victims homeless.

Rains and flooding have destroyed an area estimated at 41,000 square kilometers.

Meteorologists report that the Po river, the longest and largest in Italy, is continuing to rise at 15 centimetres per hour and its broad delta in the Adriatic Sea may be blocked by "sirocco" winds blowing from the east.

"The Po has already reached its highest level this century. If it floods, it could cause incalculable human and material damage because it passes through all the main regions of the north," said a Civil Defence representative.

The Italian government has already earmarked two billion dollars for disaster relief funds and increased the number of troops in the rescue operation to 4,300. A meeting may be held Friday to assess the damage and discuss further measures.

Italy's three leading union federations, representing 11 million workers, will cease work for 15 minutes on Nov. 11, the official day of mourning for flood victims, and have proposed that each worker donate one hour's pay to a relief fund for the victims.

© Inter Press Service (2014) — All Rights Reserved. Original source: Inter Press Service

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