Swiss volunteers mobilise to help flood victims in Italy

The Ticino residents who are lending a hand in Italy have been nicknamed the "angels of the mud" by the Italian media. Keystone / Fabrizio Zani

Residents of the Italian-speaking canton Ticino have traveled to northern Italy to help emergency teams as they rush to rescue people affected by severe flooding.

Nicknamed by the Italian media as “Angeli del fango”, the angels of the mudExternal link, Ticino residents armed with shovels and brooms have been clearing streets and shoveling debris out of houses and businesses in northern Italy after heavy rains caused severe flooding. According to Swiss public television RTS around a dozen people from the Emilia-Romagna association in Ticino have traveled to Bologna. 

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As of Saturday morning, 14 people had died in the floods or from landslides and thousands have been left homeless. Rescuers have been working for days to save people trapped in their homes but another downpour on Friday complicated rescue efforts. The flooding in the Emilia-Romagna region has been described as the most severe flooding to affect ItalyExternal link in 100 years.

Swiss solidarity

Swiss president Alain Berset expressed shock over the flooding and offered solidarity with Switzerland’s southern neighbour.

The images of the devastating floods in the Emilia-Romagna region “shock and dismay us,” Berset, who holds the rotating Swiss presidency, wrote on Twitter on Saturday.

“Our thoughts are with our neighbours and we express our solidarity with those affected and their families,” he added in Italian.