Italy remains in grip of snow, ice

(ANSA) - Rome, December 12 - Much of Italy remained in the grip of snow, ice, rain and freezing temperatures on Tuesday as the wave of bad weather continued to cause disruption, especially in the north.
    Around 1,000 people in the town of Lentigione, in the northern province of Reggio Emilia, were being evacuated on Tuesday after the River Enza burst its banks amid a wave of rain, snow, freezing temperatures and gales. Flood waters invaded both local residential and industrial areas.
    A helicopter was being used as part of the evacuation effort.
    The Italian rail network company said some of the connections that were suspended on Monday had been reactivated, but warned passengers to keep up to date on its notifications, as the situation is still problematic.
    In Liguria the Entella, Vara and Magra rivers are being closely watched for fears they could break their banks.
    The Serchio river in the province of Lucca has done just that.
    There is acqua alta (high water) in Venice too, with St Mark's Square among the areas affected.
    About 12,000 people in the Piacenza area between Val Trebbia, Val Luretta, and Val Nure have been without power since Monday due to the bad weather over the weekend. In the Lugagnano Val d'Arda municipality there are no telephone services either and local and provincial roads have mostly been closed.
    Schools were closed on Tuesday due to weather conditions in Ottone, Ferriere, Farini, Bettola, Ponte dell'Olio and Morfasso.
    The regional civil defense has announced a red alert over high water conditions in the Piacenza and Parma areas. Over the night, the Boschi dam let out water at a speed of 934 cubic meters per second. Criticism has been voiced over the lack of preparation in the country for several weather conditions. On the issue of the various rail connections that were suspended on Sunday and Monday due to the bad weather, Genoa chief prosecutor Francesco Cozzi said that "what happened to Thello train passengers - and in general, to other passengers – is a serious matter. The railways should have prepared for this before".
    He added that an assessment would be made to see whether any crimes had been committed in relation to the issue after an Italian consumers association filed a number of complaints.
    Senator Anna Maria Bernini, from the center-right Forza Italia party, said in relation to the power outages in the Apennines near Bologna that "the government continues to ignore the problem, not dealing with the urgent demands from citizens who pay bills and taxes and who, by living in those areas, help to keep the mountains alive".