Storms trigger floods in Rome and Tuscany

Rome commuters faced a bleak journey to work this morning, as stations along one of the capital’s two metro lines were shut and seven percent of bus services were out of service, Corriere della Sera reported.

Downpours caused such disruption that city dwellers were advised to limit their journeys to only “essential travel” in the Italian capital.

#Italy: due to severe weather conditions the Rome Civil Protection advises only essential travel in the city @FCOtravel

— UK in Italy (@UKinItaly) January 31, 2014

Hundreds of people called Rome’s emergency services overnight and this morning the city council decided to open up pedestrianized zones in a bid to ease traffic, Corriere said.

The train line from the suburban town of Frascati also came to a halt, while drivers faced long delays as water washed over the streets of the capital.

People in Rome took to Twitter to share photos of their flooded neighbourhoods, such as this one taken in Prati close to the Vatican:

Current situation in front of my house #Roma pic.twitter.com/phWZaXSGBC

— Flaminia Bonamici (@FlaBonamici) January 31, 2014

Bad weather also struck other parts of Italy, with authorities in Pisa on high flood alert as the Arno River swelled. Schools and public offices in the Tuscan city were closed, while further upriver floods and landslides were reported around Florence, Corriere said.

South of the two cities, heavy rain caused a 30-metre section of a medieval wall to collapse in the old town of Volterra.

The poor weather is forecast to continue over the weekend, particularly in the northern and central regions of Italy.

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