Lombardy seeks emergency declaration as severe storms flood northern Italy and prompt 1,000 rescues

Lombardy requests emergency status

Severe weather across northern and central Italy has prompted the Lombardy regional government to seek a national state of emergency. Heavy rainfall, flash floods, and mudslides forced the evacuation of approximately 400 people across the region. Regional President Attilio Fontana instructed Territory Assessor Gianluca Comazzi and Civil Protection Assessor Romano La Russa to compile the necessary damage documentation for the central government. Civil Protection Minister Nello Musumeci agreed to submit the regional request to the Council of Ministers at the earliest opportunity.

I asked Civil Protection Minister Nello Musumeci for the recognition of a state of emergency for the damage caused by the wave of severe weather that struck various parts of the Lombardy territory.

Landslides and infrastructure damage in northern valleys

The most severe structural damage occurred in the Alpine valleys of Lombardy, particularly in Val Camonica within the province of Brescia. In Rino di Sonico, two successive debris flows destroyed the bridge over the Val Rabbia torrent, which had previously been closed to traffic as a precaution. The collapse severed the SS42 highway and led to the evacuation of 81 residents, comprising 57 people on the Rino side and 24 on the Garda side. Further down the valley, the Oglio river overflowed into parts of Malonno, requiring earth-moving equipment and specialized fire crews to contain the waters. The flooding also restricted road access to the hospital in Edolo, forcing regional health administrators to implement contingency measures.

For the Edolo hospital, we have already reorganized staff shifts, ensuring continuity of services through shift extensions and facilitating access for all workers able to reach the facility.

In the province of Bergamo, emergency workers evacuated 250 guests from a campsite in Isola di Fondra on Thursday night due to rising torrent waters and hillside landslide threats. Excavators cleared an access road during the night to allow safe passage for the campers. Six municipalities in the upper Brembana valley, including Branzi, Valleve, Carona, and Foppolo, experienced temporary road isolation due to mudslides. Watercourses caused additional disruptions in Como, where a stream flooded the SS340 Regina at Domaso, and in Sondrio, where the Forni basin overflowed and destroyed a pedestrian bridge.

Storm damage across Tuscany and Liguria

The storm front generated high winds and heavy electrical activity across central and northwestern regions. In Tuscany, regional monitoring network LaMMa recorded 23,000 lightning strikes on 20 August, with wind gusts reaching 106 kilometres per hour in coastal zones. The gale-force conditions damaged the electrical grid and cut power to roughly 6,000 customers, including 2,000 in the province of Pistoia. In Florence, wind gusts reached 55 kilometres per hour, toppling a tree onto the tramway power line along Viale Giacomo Matteotti and disrupting transit services. A whirlwind in Grosseto unroofed a building in Stiacciole, while a firefighter sustained injuries from a fall during recovery operations.

In Liguria, an orange weather alert remained active until 15:00 on Friday as rainfall reached 200 millimetres over 24 hours in Chiavari. The Civil Protection department counted 25,000 lightning strikes across the region, while a tornado damaged seaside facilities in Rapallo and mudslide risks forced temporary closures on two sections of the Via Aurelia. Regional governor Eugenio Giani noted that the Bagnone river in Tuscany peaked before receding, while the Carrione in Carrara rose to its initial alert threshold.

National emergency response and regional divide

National fire services conducted more than 1,000 interventions across the affected provinces starting Thursday evening. Firefighters executed over 438 missions in Lombardy, more than 260 in Piedmont, over 200 in Tuscany, and roughly 150 in Emilia-Romagna, where winds of 120 kilometres per hour shut the Forlì airport for an hour. The weather pattern exposed a sharp contrast across the country. While four northern regions faced orange alerts and thirteen others remained under yellow alerts, southern Italy experienced extreme heat with temperatures exceeding 35 degrees Celsius in cities such as Bari, Palermo, Campobasso, and Pescara.