Massive destruction in 5terre.

Terrible news today...on Tuesday the 25th of October a massive rain storm hit parts of Tuscany and the Lingurian Coast, hardest hit were LaSpezia and the 5 villages that make up the 5terre. The mayor of Monterosso said, “for all practical purposes, Monterosso no longer exist”. They received 20” of rain that caused major mudslides, knocking out all power, and destroying the roads into Vernazza and Monterosso...a number of people in Vernazza had to be rescued by boat and a few in the area lost their lives. The pictures on the internet show massive destruction. These little villages may not be the same for quite some time. I cannot imagine the terror the people must have felt with all the rain, no power, cut off from the outside world and their very lives washing away in mud. An Italian friend of ours says the cavalry is slow to arrive in these situations (kind of like Katrina), so the people will be left to their own devices for some time. We are glad we had a chance to see the villages and spend time amongst the people before all this happened...we wish them best of luck and god speed in their recovery.