Heavy rainfall overnight left Milan under several centimeters of water, with authorities warning that the river Seveso was close to bursting its banks.
The storms reached the City of Genoa and other parts of the north-west coast early on Monday morning, battering the region with winds of nearly 120 km/hour. Many of the city’s schools were closed as a precaution, as reports came in of fallen trees, blackouts and flooding near Genoa airport.
The rest of Liguria and parts of Lombardy and Piedmont were put on orange alert, while Emilia-Romagna, Tuscany, and Valle d’Aosta were on yellow. It’s the second time in a week that the north-west has been hit by heavy rain.