Woman dies in flooded underpass as storms hit northern and central Italy

Fatal flooding in Friuli-Venezia Giulia

An 83-year-old woman residing in San Michele al Tagliamento drowned on Thursday morning after her car became trapped in a flooded road underpass in Latisana, located in the province of Udine. Emergency services were alerted via a 112 emergency call, prompting Carabinieri officers to rush to the submerged passage. One responding officer entered the water and pulled the woman from the vehicle cabin, but emergency medical personnel from the 118 service could not resuscitate her. The military officer received treatment at a local hospital under green code classification for shock and physical exposure.

Severe rain inundated roads across Latisana and nearby Lignano Sabbiadoro, prompting municipal authorities, local police, and the Civil Protection agency to initiate emergency assessments. Latisana Mayor Lanfranco Sette addressed the municipal situation following the inundations:

Flooding has been reported in various parts of the municipal territory that we are surveying. We are operational with municipal technical services, Civil Protection, and local police. The firefighters are operational. The reclamation consortium and CAFC have been alerted. Maximum caution when travelling, to be done only if necessary.

Transport disruptions and Milan court collapse

Railway infrastructure manager RFI reported severe network disruptions and delays reaching up to one hour across Friuli-Venezia Giulia and eastern Veneto. Power supply failures disabled line voltage in Trieste, while technical faults struck switches and signalling equipment at stations in Portogruaro and Monfalcone. Flooding submerged underpasses in Latisana, San Giorgio di Nogaro, and Torviscosa, leading transport authorities to establish replacement bus routes between Trieste and Portogruaro while technical crews worked on repairs.

In Milan, intense rain caused the false ceiling of the Piazza Filangieri bunker courtroom, situated opposite the San Vittore prison, to collapse. Judges, prosecutors, and defence lawyers arriving for a scheduled hearing in the Hydra organized crime trial found the entrance barred with debris and fallen ceiling tiles inside. Firefighters inspected the courtroom and declared the building unfit for use, forcing judicial officials to reschedule the proceedings for 16 September in the main appellate courtroom at the Palazzo di Giustizia.

Alpine landslide evacuations in Lombardy

In the Valtellina valley of Sondrio province, the Scaiun landslide above the village of Cataeggio in Val Masino released rock, debris, and fallen trees at approximately 01:30. Regional environmental agency Arpa Lombardia recorded the ground movement on monitoring radar, which led authorities to evacuate 45 residents to three local hotels and order the temporary closure of area schools. A containment wall funded by the Lombardy regional government intercepted the majority of the sliding material before it reached residential properties. Firefighters from Morbegno and Sondrio deployed searchlights at 02:00 to inspect the slope alongside Civil Protection personnel.

Severe weather impacts across Tuscany and Marche

Tuscany recorded more than 63,000 lightning strikes over a 12-hour period as a broad convective system crossed central Italy. Precipitation reached 115 millimetres in Grosseto, elevating the Salarco River in Montepulciano and the Bruna River in Gavorrano to their first flood guard thresholds. Firefighters and regional emergency services responded to more than 200 incidents across Tuscany, carrying out a precautionary evacuation in Reggello due to building water ingress and clearing fallen trees in Cecina, Figline Valdarno, and Viareggio. In the neighbouring Marche region, emergency teams carried out over 100 weather-related interventions across Pesaro-Urbino, Ancona, and Macerata.