IN VIDEOS: Flash floods hit Palermo after most violent rainstorm in 200 years
Firefighters continue to search for people feared missing after severe flooding in the Sicilian capital Palermo on Wednesday night.
Rescue teams searched overnight and into Thursday morning for people feared to have drowned during the flash floods, caused by what the mayor said was the most violent rainstorm since "at least 1790".
Over one metre of rain fell in under two hours, leaving cars submerged in parts of the city centre.
Si sappia, un'ora di pioggia! @ComunePalermo @LeolucaOrlando1 @rep_palermo @PalermoToday @Regione_Sicilia #palermo pic.twitter.com/v5K5HxIezK
— Silvano Matranga (@SilvanoMatranga) July 15, 2020
Italian media initially reported that two people had drowned in the flooding, following an eyewitness report of a couple trapped in their car in a flooded underpass.
But local police have since stated that they have't received any reports of missing persons in the area.
There are no confirmed deaths or serious injuries due to the flooding, firefighters confirmed early on Thursday morning, adding that they were continuing to search for people in the underpass while pumping out floodwater.
? #Palermo, nessuna vittima accertata dai sommozzatori dei #vigilidelfuoco impegnati tutta la notte nel sottopasso allagato: individuate auto sommerse, proseguono le ricerche per escludere la presenza di persone. Idrovore al lavoro per abbassare il livello d’acqua #16luglio 7:00 pic.twitter.com/LY7RsfYDXl
— Vigili del Fuoco (@emergenzavvf) July 16, 2020
However, two small children were reportedly taken to hospital with suspected hypothermia after being trapped in a car with their parents in the same submerged underpass.
Videos published on social media showed people caught in the rainstorm abandoning their submerged vehicles and swimming through deep water and mud, while recycling bins and other objects floated down flooded streets.
This type of sudden, violent rainfall is commonly called a bomba d'acqua, or "water bomb", in Italian.
However this particularly heavy rainstorm was the worst the city has seen in over 200 years, Palermo's mayor said.
"Over a metre of rain fell in Palermo in less than two hours," mayor Leoluca Orlando told Italian news agency Ansa.
He said it was "the most violent rainstorm in the history of the city since at least 1790, equal to that which usually falls in a year."
? #Palermo #maltempo, i sommozzatori dei #vigilidelfuoco hanno individuato l’auto sommersa dall’acqua in un sottopassaggio in viale Regione Siciliana. In corso verifica della presenza di due possibili dispersi.
[#15luglio aggiornamento ore 20:15] pic.twitter.com/fqJoTyI15U
— Vigili del Fuoco (@emergenzavvf) July 15, 2020
He said the city had no warning ahead of the violent rainfall, and the civil protection agency had not issued any weather alerts for the area.
Orlando said that if the city had received advance warning, "procedures would have been activated which, despite the extraordinary nature of today's events, could have mitigated the risks."
#Palermo, bomba d'acqua pic.twitter.com/6fd4WyN4AE
— il boss (@mbartolotta63) July 15, 2020
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Si sappia, un'ora di pioggia! @ComunePalermo @LeolucaOrlando1 @rep_palermo @PalermoToday @Regione_Sicilia #palermo pic.twitter.com/v5K5HxIezK
— Silvano Matranga (@SilvanoMatranga) July 15, 2020
? #Palermo, nessuna vittima accertata dai sommozzatori dei #vigilidelfuoco impegnati tutta la notte nel sottopasso allagato: individuate auto sommerse, proseguono le ricerche per escludere la presenza di persone. Idrovore al lavoro per abbassare il livello d’acqua #16luglio 7:00 pic.twitter.com/LY7RsfYDXl
— Vigili del Fuoco (@emergenzavvf) July 16, 2020
? #Palermo #maltempo, i sommozzatori dei #vigilidelfuoco hanno individuato l’auto sommersa dall’acqua in un sottopassaggio in viale Regione Siciliana. In corso verifica della presenza di due possibili dispersi.
— Vigili del Fuoco (@emergenzavvf) July 15, 2020
[#15luglio aggiornamento ore 20:15] pic.twitter.com/fqJoTyI15U
#Palermo, bomba d'acqua pic.twitter.com/6fd4WyN4AE
— il boss (@mbartolotta63) July 15, 2020
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