At least 10 dead as torrential rain hits parts of Italy

(Update: updates number of victims, adds detail)

Rome, Sep 16 (EFE).- At least ten people have died and four are missing, including minors, after heavy rain and flooding hit central Italy late Thursday, firefighting services said.

All of the casualties were reported in the country’s Marche region, where 400 millimeters of rain fell in just two hours, a meteorological phenomenon often referred to as a “water bomb.”

The volume of rainfall represented a third of what the region expects in a year, according to the head of Italy’s Civil Protection, Fabrizio Curcio, who traveled to the affected zone.

The heavy rainfall sparked a number of landslides and large torrents of water and mud that swept through several settlements in coastal areas of Marche.

In the Senigallia area, the unexpected overflow of the Misa river plunged the area into an “apocalyptic situation,” the mayor of Castelleone di Suasa said.

The violent rainstorms were also felt in neighboring Tuscany and Umbria.

Among the missing is a child of around 6 who was swept away from his mother, local media reported.

Some 200 emergency responders worked at the scenes of devastation through the night.

Curcio warned Italy must prepare for a “difficult winter” in which phenomena like Thursday’s will become more common. EFE

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