Northwest Tuscany red alert; La Spezia orange alert extended

Severe weather brought a red alert to northwestern Tuscany on Thursday, Nov. 12, while flooding and landslides disrupted communities in Tuscany and Liguria. For travelers in La Spezia and its province, the weather warning extended into Friday, Nov. 13: ANSA reported on Nov. 12 that the area's orange alert had been prolonged to that date.

The alert levels were not uniform across the two regions. A Thursday bulletin placed northern Tuscany's Serchio-Garfagnana-Lima, Lunigiana and Reno areas under a red alert, while Liguria was under orange and yellow warnings depending on the zone, according to Adnkronos. This was not a blanket red alert covering both Tuscany and Liguria.

In La Spezia, the municipal Civil Protection operations center recommended limiting car travel as much as possible during heavy rain, particularly around flood-prone areas and hillsides, ANSA reported. Farther west, firefighters rescued eight migrants from the rain-swollen Roja River in Ventimiglia, according to a separate ANSA report. Divers joined the search for others whose whereabouts were unknown.

Where Tuscany's red alert applied

Tuscany's regional operations room issued the red alert for hydrogeological risk across Massa Carrara and Lucca provinces and parts of Pistoia and Prato provinces, including the Reno Valley, ANSA reported. The specified areas were Lunigiana, the Reno basin and Serchio-Garfagnana-Lima, with the warning covering hydrogeological and hydraulic risk involving the smaller drainage network.

ANSA also reported an orange warning for major-watercourse hydraulic risk and hydrogeological risk in northwestern Tuscany, alongside a yellow warning for severe thunderstorms throughout the region. Those distinctions matter: a warning about smaller waterways and slope instability does not describe the same conditions as a flood warning along a major river.

By Thursday's update, the Serchio's flood peak had passed Borgo a Mozzano, Lucca, San Giuliano Terme and Vecchiano and was moving through the river mouth, Adnkronos reported, citing Tuscany President Eugenio Giani. Levels were declining and remained within the first reference level. Giani also reported no critical issues along the Arno, where measurements showed no particular risk situation.

That river update was not an all-clear for road access. In Massa Carrara province, the prefecture reported flooding, fallen trees, landslides and road slips, according to ANSA. The immediate consequences included an isolated settlement and emergency work to keep other communities connected.

Landslides cut access around Massa Carrara

In Massa, a landslide blocked municipal and provincial roads serving the hamlet of Forno. Provincial and municipal authorities opened a route for emergency vehicles, but ANSA reported that the affected road remained interrupted. Water continuing to flow from the mountain slopes meant conditions were not safe for repair work.

The distinction is important for anyone planning to reach the area: emergency access was established while the damaged road remained closed. Massa also arranged assistance and accommodation for displaced residents, placing five people from two households in a municipal residential support facility.

Elsewhere in the province, Fosdinovo and Tresana were activating urgent work to restore roads and prevent further landslides from isolating villages and hamlets, according to the prefecture's account carried by ANSA. Firefighters in Fosdinovo removed tree trunks from the Isolone stream. Schools across the province were closed as a precaution under mayoral orders.

La Spezia flooding brings closures and reinforcement

In eastern Liguria, ANSA reported continued rain and monitoring of waterways around La Spezia, including the Lagora near the historic center, the Cappelletto flowing into the commercial port, the Vecchia Dorgia in Migliarina and the Fossamastra in the industrial area.

Firefighters, reinforced by crews from Genoa and Savona, worked to remove water from ground-floor premises, basements and warehouses. Navy personnel and pumps also helped clear mud from businesses around Corso Cavour and neighboring streets, according to ANSA. Adnkronos separately reported that nine people had been evacuated from Via Nino Bixio after ground-floor flooding, while flooded underpasses in Sarzana had been cleared.

Arpal, Liguria's regional environmental protection agency, warned of possible flooding along the Magra's floodplain and nearby areas, especially its lower stretch, ANSA reported. That was a prospective warning, distinct from the flooding already reported in city streets and buildings.

Liguria also moved volunteers, vehicles and assistance equipment from its western Civil Protection hub in Villanova d'Albenga to Santo Stefano Magra. Regional Civil Protection official Giacomo Giampedrone described the deployment as precautionary, with attention focused on eastern Liguria and particularly the Magra and Vara basins, according to ANSA.

A further order signed by La Spezia Mayor and Provincial President Pierluigi Peracchini suspended in-person teaching in the municipality's listed educational institutions and all high schools in the province. ANSA reported that the measures also covered nursery services and several youth, senior and disability support facilities. Adnkronos documented Thursday school closures in other Ligurian municipalities, including Chiavari, Sestri Levante and Santa Margherita Ligure.

Eight rescued from the Roja in Ventimiglia

The Ventimiglia emergency unfolded late Thursday afternoon at the Italian-French border. A group of migrants camping in the Roja riverbed beneath a railway overpass was swept away after a sudden rise in water levels, ANSA reported.

Firefighters rescued eight people. Six others remained unaccounted for at the time of ANSA's report; they might have moved away to avoid checks or could have been trapped in the water. Their status was unresolved, and divers were participating in the search.

Friday's forecast was not a reopening notice

Speaking to Adnkronos on Thursday, iLMeteo.it meteorologist Lorenzo Tedici forecast continued instability Friday morning across Lombardy, northeastern Italy and the Tyrrhenian regions, followed by improvement in the north from the afternoon. He identified already saturated soils as a concern as further rain arrived.

For travelers, that forecast and the access situation are separate questions. ANSA's account of Forno showed why: an emergency route existed while the damaged road remained closed. A break in the rain is not confirmation that a landslide-blocked road has reopened. In La Spezia, ANSA's Nov. 12 report carried the municipal Civil Protection recommendation to minimize driving during heavy rain.