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Parma 'worse than expected' after floods - update [ANSA](ANSA Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) (ANSA) - Parma, October 14 - Parma mayor Federico Pizzarotti on Monday night described the situation as "much worse than expected" after the Baganza River broke its banks, leaving parts of the northern city buried in mud. "This kind of event leaves a city that is injured and fragile," wrote Pizzarotti on his Facebook profile, listing a hospital, a centre for the elderly and a bridge among the structures worst hit. Telecommunications services have also been affected as a result of the flooding, leaving residents unable to communicate with the local administration among other things. Meanwhile in the northwestern coastal region of Liguria the emergency alert was lifted Tuesday morning following a let-up in the torrential rainfall that caused millions of euros in flood damage in Genoa and killed one person Friday. However the situation in the beleaguered port city remained critical, with meteorologists predicting possible fresh thuder storms on Tuesday and Wednesday. "I have read that it is pointless saying the territory is fragile," said Genoa mayor Marco Doria in reference to criticism of his administration for failing to take preventive action in spite of 2011 floods in which six people died. "However it is the truth and repeating it does not mean looking for alibis but identifying a priority for the city administration," he said. Following Friday's flash floods Genoa prosecutors opened a probe into possible man-made disaster stemming from incomplete or lacking public works that were supposed to have shored up the city's flood defences. (c) 2014 ANSA Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (Syndigate.info). |