Swollen Tiber in Rome

River Tiber, Rome

The ‘Tevere‘ which is known as the ‘Tiber‘ in English is so swollen that Romans are concerned that many of the bridges crossing Rome‘s famous river may be damaged or even collapse.

The danger seems to be passing, but more rain could spell disaster for Italy’s eternal city.  Many Romans, however, have been recording this event, and more than a few videos have already found themselves onto YouTube.

If you would like to see what all the fuss is about, click on to see a couple of videos.

River Tiber – Rome 12 December 2008

River Tiber in Full Spate – Rome 12 December 2008

Oh and Venice is under water too, but then this is quite usual at this time of year.  Naples is also having problems with flooding.

Bad weather is causing problems in many areas of Italy at the moment and one small village near Bergamo in northern Italy has been isolated by a landslide.  Landslides are not at all uncommon in the more mountainous areas of Italy and can cause considerable damage to property and often claim lives too.

On the bright side, when it is raining at lower levels in Italy, this often means that it is snowing at higher levels.  Skiers heading for Italy’s pistes this year are likely to be in for a bumper year snow wise – which is something I can confirm at least in part, for Bardonecchia in north western Italy is not suffering any shortage of snow!