Flooding in Italian city Messina leaves 18 dead

Flooding rains across Messina, a small city in north-eastern Sicily, has left at least 18 dead and 40 to be hospitalized.

ANSA, an Italian news agency said that torrential rain dumped over 230 cm or 90.11 inches of rain in less than one hour overnight on Thursday and into Friday. The flooding caused mudslides and forced people onto their roofs. According to NPR, the government in Rome has declared a state of emergency for the area, freeing funds for emergency relief and reconstruction. It is believed that deforestation and unregulated development had weakened the soil and contributed to the mudslides from Messina's surrounding hills and cliffs. Civil protection chief Guido Bertolaso told ANSA, ''The first priority is to focus on relief efforts before we start talking about whose fault this is''.