Eternal City eternally damp as Rome suffers record rainfall; Calabria again under water

by AFP Staff Writers
Rome (AFP) Feb 14, 2026
Italy's southern Calabria region has asked that a new national state of emergency be called after days of heavy rains pounding the area caused flooding and mudslides, authorities said Saturday.

Italy had already declared a state of emergency last month for Calabria, at the foot of Italy's boot, and the islands of Sicily and Sardinia after Storm Harry wreaked havoc on seaside roads and homes.

In the past 48 hours, Calabria has faced a new spate of weather-related problems, including "violent gusts, cloudbursts, storm surges and a wave of bad weather that has caused landslides, flooding, swollen rivers and collapsed embankments in various areas of our region," Calabria's president, Roberto Occhiuto, said in a statement.

The region's agriculture, livestock and fishing industries "have been brought to their knees by the exceptionally intense wave that devastated the countryside, crops and rural infrastructure", he added.

There were no victims or missing recorded, he said.

In the eastern town of Cassano all'Ionio in the province of Cosenza, the Crati river overflowed its banks and caused flooding in the Laghi di Sibari area, as well as the nearby archaeological park of Sibari, the town said in a statement.

On Friday, Mayor Gianpaolo Iacobini encouraged residents near the river to leave their homes for higher ground. Media reports said around 500 people were later evacuated.

National broadcaster Rai showed video images of entire streets and agricultural land submerged in brown water Saturday, and people on balconies waiting for the floods to subside.

Firefighters said they had performed approximately 2,000 interventions in the past 72 hours in Calabria, Sardinia and Sicily due to the weather.

Eternal City eternally damp as Rome suffers record rainfall
Rome (AFP) Feb 13, 2026 - It is carnival time in Rome, which traditionally means piazzas filled with excitable children in costumes, gorging on fried treats -- but record rains are ruining the party.

Persistent bad weather has dogged the whole of Italy since the start of the year, with storms causing huge damage and disruption.

Rome itself has seen near-daily downpours in February after a record amount of rain last month.

"January 2026 ranked as one of the three wettest Januarys (in Rome) since 1782," meteorologist Lorenzo Tedici told AFP.

With its lush parks and outdoor social scene, the Eternal City is known for its long summers and temperate winters.

But Italy is a so-called "hotspot" for climate change in Europe, and in recent years the whole country has been experiencing extreme weather events, particularly droughts.

The storms sweeping through in recent week have at least "ended the drought in several southern regions -- particularly Sicily and Sardinia," Tedici said.

Yet the "exceptionally rainy period" is now "causing problems due to excess water in central and southern Italy", he said.

Nearly 58 percent more rainfall than average fell across Italy last month, he said.

Coastal areas took a pummelling in January, with one town in Sicily, Niscemi, left teetering on the brink of a cliff after a massive landslide triggered by Storm Harry.

- 'English climate in Italy' -

With the bad weather expected to last until February 20, according to Tedici, mayors in storm-hit towns have been cancelling or postponing carnival celebrations.

The festivities are a last hurrah before Lent, a period of abstinence in the Christian calendar leading up to Easter -- and can last for days.

But at the Antico Forno Roscioli in Rome, where carnival delicacies including crispy pastries and custard-filled donut balls are piled high, many customers are not in the mood.

"The rains are definitely putting a downer on festivities and slowing sales," manager Paolo Martinucci told AFP.

Davide Faranda, research director at the Climate and Environment Sciences Laboratory in Paris, said Italy was currently being drenched by Storm Nils.

The storm, which has already lashed parts of France, Portugal, and Spain, has brought stronger than usual winds and rain.

Climate change is increasing the intensity of heavy rainfall events across Europe, by warming the atmosphere and allowing it to hold and release more moisture.

The Mediterranean region as a whole is also warming faster than the rest of the globe.

That means "changes in temperature and the hydrological cycle tend to be stronger there than the global average, which can exacerbate heavy rainfall", Faranda told AFP.

What is more, Italy has specific geographical characteristics "that can amplify impacts", he said.

"Its location between the Mediterranean Sea and the Alps, combined with complex topography and long coastlines, makes it particularly sensitive to moisture transport, orographic rainfall (caused by air flowing over mountains), and slow-moving storm systems," he said.

Tedici said the "endless rain" was caused by the polar jet stream -- a ring of fast-moving air around the Arctic -- being "further south than normal".

It is "essentially bringing the English climate to Italy", he said.

And while Storm Nils is passing over, Anbi Water Resources Observatory warned Italy Friday to batten down the hatches for the incoming "St Valentine's Cyclone".