George Clooney Caught in Devastating Floods After Landslides Hit Popular Tourist Destination in Northern Italy

Torrential rains in towns surrounding Lake Cuomo, a popular tourist destination in northern Italy, caused lakes and rivers to swell up, resulting in landslides in the area, reports Independent. Firefighters had to rescue about 60 residents from their homes after they were trapped inside, but no deaths or injuries were reported. Among the people who got caught in the floods was actor George Clooney and his family.

The Up In The Air actor and his family were holidaying in their 18th-century Villa Oleandra in idyllic Laglio when disaster struck, reports New York Post. Clooney, his wife Amal, and their 4-year-old twins were unhurt and their property was not damaged.

The property—which he bought for about $14 million, in 2002—comes with 25 rooms, an outdoor theater, and a swimming pool, along with a 100-meter exclusion zone.

“It’s so much worse than anybody thinks. We were in Cernobbio and it was very bad, but here in Laglio it’s much worse,” Clooney told Italian media. “They think it could be years and millions of dollars before they fix it up.”

“This town has been here forever, it’s going to continue and it’s going to be stronger and come back better. This is a very resilient town,” the actor added.

Mayor Roberto Pozzi, who was forced to order an evacuation for residents living in dangerous areas, told The Sun: "We had three days of continuous rain and then all hell broke loose and we were flooded with an amazing wall of water and debris from the mountain."

"It is a disaster zone - four houses have been destroyed and those families are being given alternative accommodation. The noise and the strength of the water were amazing - I have never seen anything like it. This will take many days to clear up. George and his family are here and the road near their house is impassable in places but they are safe and there was no damage to their property."

The floods in Lake Cuomo come just days hailstones the size of tennis balls damaged nearly 100 vehicles and stalled traffic on a highway near Bologna, in northern Italy. Drivers and passengers watched in shock as the huge hailstones caused major damages to their cars, especially the windshields. Though hailstorms are common during the summer in the Po River Valley, meteorologist Luca Lombroso says the strength and frequency of it this year has made the phenomenon “unusual.”

Also, Italian agricultural lobby group Coldiretti said that there have been so many instances of unpredictable weather changes in recent years. “We are facing in Italy the consequences of climate change, with a trend toward tropicalization and the multiplication of extreme events.”

References:

https://www.independent.co.uk/climate-change/lake-como-landslides-flooding-italy-b1892024.html

https://nypost.com/2021/07/29/george-clooney-caught-in-floods-that-hit-northern-italy/

https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/15721357/george-clooney-caught-in-italy-floods/

Cover Image Source: Getty Images | Photo by JP Yim