There was a grand storm in Rome last night. Blinding flashes of lightening were followed by ear-splitting claps of thunder. Rain and hail poured out of the sky. Unusual? Well, if you consider Rome’s usual winter weather, yes, a storm like that was quite a strange occurance. But, considered in light of the weather we’ve been having over the past few weeks, the storm was nothing out of the norm. It’s been raining cats and dogs here for weeks.
Not surprisingly, all the water that’s poured out of the sky in the past month is causing a lot of problems. The Tiber River has risen to an extraordinary height (see photos above and below) and last night firefighters had to evacuate dozens of people trapped in cars on flooded streets and on ground floors of buildings.
The mayor of Rome, Giovanni Alemanno, has has declared the weather to be a emergency–one of large enough proportions to warrant the cancellation of tomorrow’s transportation strike.
