Two regions in northern Italy have been put on red alert amid heavy rain, flooding and landslides.
Flavio Zappacosta, the UK and Ireland head of the Italian National Tourist Board, said heavy rain has been falling in Tuscany – especially in the Florence area – and Emilia-Romagna.
“According to the Italian papers, there is a red alert today (March 14) in the two regions and tomorrow (March 15) there will be still red alert in Tuscany until 2pm,” he said.
“Schools and museums will be closed in Florence tomorrow. Some shops have closed due to the floods.”
He said some roads may be flooded and there are delays and cancellations on local and regional trains.
However, airports are not having severe delays so far, and he has heard no reports so far of any holiday cancellations so far, he added.
“The bad weather should be over tomorrow afternoon,” he said.
An Abta spokesperson said: “We’re currently issuing advice to members via an operational bulletin, and will continue to monitor the situation and provide further updates if necessary.”
The BBC reported that the red alerts cover cities such as Florence and Pisa – and the heavy rainfall was expected to continue during Friday afternoon.
Residents in Florence were advised against all travel after the A1 motorway was partially closed, said the BBC.
Italian flag picture by TinoFotografie/Shutterstock