By Richard Davies, floodlist

In the wake of Storm Ciarán's destructive path across Western Europe from late October to early November 2023, the region of Tuscany in central Italy faced catastrophic flooding and landslides that prompted officials to declare a state of emergency on 03 November.

The Regional Functional Center in Tuscany, revealed significant rainfall figures, with several areas recording over 200 mm of rain within a 24-hour period up to 03 November. Notably, Vagli di Sotto's weather station recorded 246.6 mm during this timeframe. Additionally, the Pontedera weather station in the province of Pisa recorded 198.6 mm in just 4 hours from on 02 November.

The torrential rain triggered multiple landslides and caused several water bodies to break their banks, including the Furba stream in Carmignano, the Bagnolo stream in Montemurlo and the Bisenzio River in Santa Maria a Campi. Swollen tributaries of Ombrone River flooded areas of Pistoia, Agliana, Quarrata and Serravalle Pistoiese in the Pistoia Province.

In response to the crisis, teams from the National Civil Protection were swiftly deployed to the affected areas, utilizing helicopters, boats, and amphibious vehicles to conduct rescue operations and locate missing individuals.  Between 02 and 03 November over 1,000 interventions were carried out across the provinces of Florence, Livorno, Lucca, Pisa, Pistoia, and Prato.

The disaster forced hundreds of people to evacuate their homes, with notable evacuations in Calcinaia and San Miniato in the Province of Pisa, as well as various areas in the Province of Pistoia. Around 12,000 residents in Campi Bisenzio, Florence, and another 2,000 in Seano in Prato Province were forced to remain in their homes due to dangerously high floodwaters.

Transportation services were severely impacted, with a regional train line suspended, leading to the evacuation of approximately 150 passengers. These individuals were provided temporary accommodation at a municipal building in Vaiano.

Copernicus EMS Rapid Mapping was activated to provide maps of the flood and damages: https://rapidmapping.emergency.copernicus.eu/EMSR705/download

In a report of 17 November, the regional government estimated the overall damage at over 2 billion euros.