Italy on flooding alert

Rivers and streams in central Italy broke their banks in some low-lying, mostly rural, areas yesterday and parts of the country were put on alert for possible flooding if rains continued.

The Tiber was one of several rivers to break their banks in the central Umbria region or in the Lazio region north of Rome.

Italy has been hit by an unseasonal spate of torrential rain and lower-than-normal temperatures.

So far, the flooding has been mostly limited to rural areas and some minor flooding in populated areas.

Guido Bertolaso, national head of the civil protection department, said the situation was critical in some areas but still under control.

In Rome, where the Tiber is walled off by a tall embankment, the level of the river rose several metres after a dam some 100 kilometres upstream was opened to prevent flooding there.

In Terni, a city in the Umbria region, officials said the area had seen a year's worth of rain in the past few days.

The Arno River was also swollen in Florence and other parts of Tuscany but there were no reports of serious flooding in urban areas.

Snow fell in some central regions at the weekend, disrupting flights and rail traffic in many areas.