Heavy rains soak central, northern Italy

(ANSA) - Rome, September 15 - Towns and cities throughout central and northern Italy experienced heavy rainfall on Thursday, including Padua where a hospital clinic was flooded with 10 cm of water, and the island of Sardinia, where 50 structures were damaged by water and mud.
    Heavy rainstorms with lightning, strong winds, and hail in some areas are expected on Friday in Sardinia and the regions of Emilia-Romagna, Veneto, Tuscany, Umbria, Marche, Lazio, Abruzzo and Molise, according to a weather alert released Thursday afternoon by the country's civil protection department.
    The heavy rains are troubling in areas where the grape harvest is already underway, said the Confederation of Italian Farmers (CIA).
    It said the crops most at risk, however, are fruits nearly ready for harvest, such as kiwi and olive.
    Farm association Coldiretti said Italian agriculture has suffered 14 billion euros' worth of damage over the past decade due to unusual weather events linked to climate change.