[ad_1]
(ROME) – At least 12 people have been killed by floods in Sicily, Italian authorities said on Sunday, including nine members of two families who spent a long weekend together when the water and mud washed up. an inflated river has invaded their villa.
After examining the affected Mediterranean island by helicopter, Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte identified two other victims as a German couple whose car was washed away by floodwaters near Agrigento, a renowned tourist town for its ancient Greek temples.
According to Italian reports, a one – year – old child, a 3 – year – old child and a teenager were among the victims of the flood at the family rally in Casteldaccia. A survivor, Giuseppe Giordano, has lost his wife, two of his children, his parents and a brother, announced the Italian news agency ANSA.
State broadcaster RaiNews24 said that Giordano was out Saturday night when the torrent rushed to describe him as the only person to have managed to get out alive.
When he opened the door, "there was a river of water, I was knocked over and grabbed a tree," Giordano told reporters between sobs. "I was screaming, 'Help, help.'"
"My son Federico tried to save his little sister, but both died," said Giordano, telling reporters that he had heard his son scream "I'm busy" with the girl's rescue .
Then "I saw the windows go out, the light go out, a layer of mud was moving on the floor," Giordano said. He was then swept away by the force of the water.
The two families had gathered in the villa during the long weekend in Italy, on the occasion of the national holiday of November 1st.
Although Italian newspapers initially described him as the owner of the house, Giordano said he rented the villa.
The Mayor of Casteldaccia, Giovanni Di Giacinto, told Sky TG24 that the floodwaters were 2 meters high inside the house.
The rescuers have recovered the bodies of the house. A Sicilian prosecutor opened an investigation to determine whether negligence, such as a possible inadequate drainage of the river, had played a role in the deaths or if the house had been built illegally near the river.
The latter could be the case. Pino Virga, mayor of the nearby town of Altavilla Milicia, told SkyTG24 TV that other local authorities had told her that the house was going to be demolished because she was too close to the river .
Di Giacinto also told the press that the owner had blocked the demolition by challenging it in a local court.
A retirement home on the road has been spared, ANSA reported.
A few days earlier, other storms hit much of northern Italy, killing at least 15 people, uprooting millions of trees near alpine valleys and leaving several Italian villages without electricity or road access for several days. .
Mr Conte said that a special cabinet meeting could be held in the coming days to deliberate on assisting storm-ravaged communities and to approve a billion euros (1.15 billion euros). dollars) to ensure safe hydrogeological conditions in Italy, including deep bed cleaning.
The other known victim in Sicily is a man whose body was also found on a guardrail along a road linking Palermo following the floods that washed away his car, the Italian press reported.
The firefighters claimed that their divers had been working on recovering the bodies of the couple whose car had been taken in the waters of the Saraceno River, said the Cammarata fire department, near Agrigento.
Also in the province of Agrigento, the firefighters saved 14 people from a hotel in the city of Montevago, threatened by floods from the Belice River.
Elsewhere in Sicily, at least two other people were missing on Sunday after the waters were washed away, including a doctor going to the hospital in the town of Corleone, located on the hill.
In Casteldaccia, Maria Concetta Alfano announced that she, her husband and their disabled adult daughter had fled after barking dogs had drawn their attention to the rising waters in the Milicia River. According to ANSA, the husband, Andrea Cardenale, reportedly said that he was away by car, because "the water was at the height of the hood of the car".
