4 Dead as #Storms and #Flooding Hit #Italy and #Greece
Greece
Parts of Greece have seen torrential rain, strong winds and stormy seas since 24 November, 2019. Two people died after strong winds and stormy seas capsized a moored boat in Antirio.
Heavy rain caused flash flooding and landslides in Kineta, west of the capital Athens. The Fire Department say they received 47 calls for the Kineta area including 27 rescues. Parts of the surrounding road network were blocked.
Further north, around 6 buildings were damaged after flooding in Katerini in Pieria. The Fire Department also attended flood incidents in areas around Ierissos, Halkidiki and Thassos.
Flooding was also reported on some of the country’s islands, in particular Rhodes on 25 November. One person was found dead in a flooded building, 6 people were rescued and 7 others evacuated. The Fire Department received 190 calls for assistance, mainly for the areas in the north of the island including Ialyssos, Kremasti and the city of Rhodes. Greek Civil Protection have since declared a state of emergency for the island.
Italy
In Italy, part of a motorway viaduct near Savona in Liguria Region was washed away by a landslide and flood waters. The rain has caused numerous other landslides across the region, prompting around 100 evacuations.
In Piedmont Region, one person died after a vehicle was swept away by flood waters from the overflowing Bormida River in Sezzadio Municipality, Alessandria Province. Two others survived. Around 200 people were evacuated after flooding in the province, with around 160 others were left isolated.
In the Lombardy Region, the River Ticino burst its banks causing flooding in the of Pavia, prompting flood rescues.
Heavy snowfall and avalanches have also caused major problems in the north of the country. Around 500 people were evacuated in the Aosta Valley Region.
Meanwhile Venice has suffered yet further flooding from high tides, known as acqua alta. Peak tide level reached 1.3 metres on 24 November, prompting authorities to close some buildings. The city has been regularly flooded by high tides since mid-November.
Courtesy of floodlist.com
#Storms Turn Deadly, Worst #Flooding in 50 Years in #Venice, #Italy
Floods in Venice, 12 November 2019. Photo: Commune of Venice
Severe weather has affected wide areas of Italy since 11 November has caused the worst flooding in 50 years in southern regions.
Strong winds, heavy rain and seasonal high tides in Venice combined with trigger worst flooding in over 50 years.
Late on 12 November, 2019, the high tide reached 1.87 meters, just below the record 1.94m set in 1996.
Widespread damage was reported to boats and buildings. Venice Mayor Luigi Brugnaro estimated that the costs will run into several hundred million euros. Local authorities called for state of emergency
Firefighters carried out over 400 interventions in electrical fields. Several people were rescued by the Coast Guard. Local media have blamed 2 deaths on the severe weather. Both fatalities occurred on the island of Pellestrina.
Firefighters and rescue teams carried out 280 interventions in South Tyrol (South Tyrol) after strong winds and heavy snowfall of 40cm. As many as 15,000 people were left without power. Some flooding was reported in the city of Bolzano.
Courtesy of floodlist.com
34 #divers missing after 75ft-long #vessel catches #fire in southern #California, #USA
The fire broke out on a commercial scuba diving vessel. Pic: SBCFireInfo
Thirty-four divers are feared dead after a boat caught on fire and sank off the coast of southern California, officials have said.
Five crew members who were awake on the upper deck of the 75ft boat jumped into the sea when the blaze broke out in the early hours of Monday.
The commercial scuba diving vessel named Conception with 39 people on board, had been anchored near Santa Cruz Island, off the coast of Santa Barbara.
Officials said 34, believed to be sleeping below deck, are missing and are feared dead.
More than 30 people were on board the 75ft yacht
The US Coast Guard has helicopters, small boats and a patrol cutter in the area for the search-and-rescue operation off Santa Cruz Island, which is around 90 miles (140km) from Los Angeles.
The fire broke out before dawn aboard the vessel on the final day of a Labour Day weekend cruise to the Channel Islands.
A rescue operation has launched following a boat fire in southern California. Pic: Ventura County Fire Department
The vessel was around 59ft (18 metres) offshore when it sank in 64ft (19 metres) of water while crews tried to extinguish the fire, Captain Monica Rochester of the Coast Guard said.
She said a mayday call was heard at around 3.15am.
Crews from the Coast Guard, Santa Barbara Fire Department, Ventura County Fire Department and Vessel Assist responded.
The five crew members who jumped off board were rescued by a good Samaritan pleasure craft called the Great Escape.
Two suffered minor injuries, said Coast Guard Petty Officer Mark Barney.
The sunken vessel has a portion of the bow sticking out of the water.
The Ventura County Fire Department tweeted photos of the boat engulfed in flames, and said it had responded to the incident off the north side of Santa Cruz Island at approximately 3.28am
An image of the route the boat took after leaving Santa Barbara. Pic: MarineTraffic.com
The Conception was operated by Worldwide Diving Adventures, a respected Santa Barbara-based company that says on its website it has been taking divers on such expeditions since 1972.
It left at 4am on Saturday for a three-day diving trip and was scheduled to return at 5pm on Monday.
The crew was using the vessel to visit San Miguel, a rarely visited island with a variety of interesting sea life including anemones, crabs and nudibranchs.
The vessel was fitted with dozens of small berths for people to sleep in overnight.
Courtesy of Sky News
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