A German grandmother and her five-month-old grandson have gone missing after a flash flood swept through their holiday home in Tuscany, Italy. The flooding occurred when the River Sterza overflowed near the town of Montecatini Val di Cecina, Pisa, inundating the house where the family was staying.
The family, who was vacationing in Italy, frantically contacted emergency services on Monday evening as floodwaters surged into their home. However, due to language barriers and delays in locating their exact position, rescue efforts were hindered. Tragedy struck as the baby fell into the rising water, and his grandmother was swept away while attempting to save him, according to the town’s mayor, Francesco Auriemma.
Though the baby’s parents and grandfather managed to climb to the rooftop and were later rescued, the grandmother and baby remain missing. Over 100 firefighters are currently involved in the search and rescue operation, facing hazardous conditions due to collapsed roads and mud-covered areas.
The floodwaters rose rapidly, reaching as high as 2.5 meters (8 feet), according to firefighter Nicola Cianelli. The region has been battered by heavy rainfall since Monday, and the situation is expected to worsen with more bad weather on the way.
The Tuscany region has seen an unprecedented amount of rainfall, with more rain falling in just six hours than typically accumulates in a full month, said regional president Eugenio Giani. This devastating flood is being described as the worst weather event in Tuscany’s recorded history, and it comes just after serious flooding in nearby Emilia Romagna that left over 1,000 people displaced.
