CINIGIANO – A critical situation has been declared following a fire in Maremma which has caused the evacuation of 2,400 local residents from the slopes of Mount Amiata, the local fire brigade have confirmed.

 “The situation is very critical. Everyone in the town has been evacuated. Some decided to leave of their own accord while others did so following our advice. The town of Castiglioncello Bandini is also in danger” said the mayor Romina Sani. The town is currently surrounded by flames and have made conditions unbreathable. The fire reportedly broke out in the Granaione area, in the nearby district of Campagnatico.

 The fire comes as extreme temperatures have been recorded across Italy this past weekend with record temperatures recorded for the Po Valley and in the central southern region.

 The Ministry of Health have issued its maximum red health alert level for 19 cities and according to meteorological experts the situation “is not going to change significantly for the south.”

 Fuelled by strong winds and high temperatures four Canadair helicopters were deployed to tackle a fire in a forest in Isernia, between the districts of Castelromano and Cutone, while two other fires broke out in Ramazzotti.

 Another serious issue caused by the hot weather is the ongoing drought emergency. Today the federation of Italian farmers have demanded immediate measures to save their harvest.

 Together with the Italian national agricultural water board (Anbi) they have come up with a scheme to collect up to 50% of rainwater through a network of artificial reservoirs being constructed.

 “An emergency measure needs to be taken now to save the harvest and the future of businesses and farms in serious difficulty” said the Coldiretti president Ettore Prandini.