Water bomb hits Ferrara, bad weather continues to lash north

(ANSA) - ROME, AUG 19 - A so-called 'water bomb' hit the northern Emilia-Romagna city of Ferrara as storms that have killed two people in Tuscany continued to whip across the north of Italy Friday.
    The intensity of the bad weather, which caused massive damage across the north Thursday, eased somewhat but there were still heavy showers and thunderstorms in northern and some central parts.
    The exceptional downpour that struck the Romagna city flooded streets and the basements of homes and shops.
    Mayor Alan Fabbri said the equivalent of half the rain of the whole of 2021 fell on the city in two days.
    Ferrara's sewer system "virtually collapsed", he said, as drought-withered green areas failed to fulfill their normal drainage function.
    A bad-weather alert continued in Emilia-Romagna on the whole of Friday.
    Storm damage was highest in the provinces of Ferrara, Modena and Parma. (ANSA).