CAMPI BISENZIO, Italy, Nov 3 (Reuters) - Five people have been killed after rivers burst their banks following torrential rain in the central Italian region of Tuscany, local authorities said on Friday, as Storm Ciaran continued to lash western Europe.
There had been fears that the River Arno could flood the historic city of Florence after nearby towns were swamped, but Tuscan regional president Eugenio Giani said the high water point had passed in mid-morning without major incident.
A bridge collapsed near the city of Pistoia, killing two people. Another person died in the town of Rosignano.
The other two victims were elderly people living in the small town of Montemurlo, according to Italian media.
The Italian government declared a state of emergency and allocated an initial 5 million euros ($5.4 million) to help the worst-hit areas.
Around 48,000 people in the region had no electricity, Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini told a news conference.
CLIMATE CHANGE BLAMED
Locals in Campi Bisenzio, just north of Florence, started clean-up operations after the Bisenzio river flooded their homes.
Tuscany president Giani said the region had never seen so much rain in such a short space of time.
"What happened overnight in Tuscany has a clear name: CLIMATE CHANGE," he wrote on social media site X.
Another person was missing in the northeastern Veneto region, the local governor was quoted as saying by Sky TG24.
Weather alerts remained in force in a number of Italian regions, with some schools closed, after a week in which the country has been lashed by strong winds and heavy rain.
Storm Ciaran was driven by a powerful jet stream that swept in from the Atlantic, unleashing heavy rain and furious winds that have already caused heavy flooding in Northern Ireland, parts of Britain, Belgium, the Netherlands and France.
Italy is seen as particularly exposed to the effects of climate change. Floods in the region of Emilia-Romagna in May killed at least 14 people.
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