George Clooney's Lake Como home lashed by mud and flood debris, actor was inside with family
George Clooney and his family were trapped inside their Italian villa as Lake Como outside flooded due to heavy torrential rain for days. The raging flood turned the road outside their home into a river and debris blocked the front door of the plush mansion, while he, his wife Amal Clooney and their four-year-old twins sheltered inside.
The 60-year-old Hollywood hunk and his celebrated lawyer wife, Amal, were staying in Villa Oleandra, in the town of Laglio that has been severely hit by the rains and the devastation it has brought in its wake. The couples' twin children - son Alexander, and daughter Ella, were also trapped with them after it began raining on Tuesday, July 27. About 60 people, including some 30 from Laglio, were rescued from the damaged homes and wreckage caused by the floods and subsequent landslides.
READ MORE
Amal Clooney looks gorgeous in white dress on Lake Como dinner date with George Clooney
Clooney's home was slammed by a giant expanse of mud, wood, and debris that washed up against the villa and even reached a first-floor balcony, as reported by the Italian media. The actor was caught on camera by paparazzi helping locals clean up the damage on Wednesday, July 28, before he met with mayor Roberto Pozzi at some of the worst affected sports in the town.
Shaking hands with local business owners, offering them ample support, Clooney told local TV station TG1: "It's much worse than I thought." Apologizing for his lack of Italian, Clooney continued: "In Cernobbio the situation is serious. I spoke with the mayor, there will be a lot of work, it will take millions of dollars, but this city is strong. It will react and return better than before. This is a very resilient city" Flooding around Lake Como follows a spate of extreme weather conditions all across Europe amidst alarming climate change reports. The severe rains in Germany and Belgium earlier this month led to several people killed and many displaced from their homes. Damage from the same was also seen Netherlands and Switzerland. Turkey and Greece both have been combating forest fires amidst hope of temperatures finally dropping to 40 degrees celsius n the coming days.
Following the Lake Como flooding, firefighters helped rescue dozens while several were evacuated precaution. Among those rescued was an elderly woman blocked in her home with a disability and a caregiver - both isolated by the landslide. The town of Brienno on the lake's western shore was the hardest hit, with 50 residents blocked inside their homes after a landslide caused a gas leak. Firefighters also evacuated a condo in Cernobbio, threatened with flooding.
The storms that cause Lake Como's flooding arrived just a day after tennis ball-sized hailstones damaged some 100 cars and stalled traffic in northern Italy, near Bologna. Videos shared by locals showed cars and windshields shattered by the hailstones pulled over on the side of a highway as drivers observed the damage, shocked and stunned.