Pescara flooded, driving to be avoided (2)

(ANSA) - Pescara, January 18 - The Pescara River in Pescara, a central Italian town in Abruzzo on the Adriatic coast, burst its banks early Wednesday morning and caused flooding throughout the town, city officials said.
    Residents have been advised to avoid using their cars, and underpasses are being monitored for safety.
    Meanwhile, 87,000 residents in Abruzzo are still without electricity due to freezing temperatures and heavy snow that has gripped much of the country in recent days.
    Further north in Genoa, where 300 people were temporarily evacuated on Tuesday due a fire that broke out in the hills around the city, new fires have formed and are being stoked by high winds.
    Inland areas of the coastal town of Imperia, about an hour east of the French border, are also ablaze.