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Storms raze forests, bringing northern Italy 'to its knees' Nine dead after river bursts banks and floods house in Sicily
(about 4 hours later)
Fierce winds and rains have killed more than 20 people in Italy this week and razed thousands of hectares of forest in the country’s devastated north, officials have said. Nine people from two families have been killed on the Italian island of Sicily after a river burst its banks and flooded a house outside Palermo.
After causing havoc in the north, the storms also struck the southern island of Sicily overnight on Saturday, killing nine people in Palermo after their villa was flooded by the swollen Milicia river. Fierce winds and rains have killed more than 20 people in Italy this week and razed thousands of hectares of forest in the country’s devastated north before moving south at the weekend.
One man died after the car he was driving was hit by floodwater from the San Leonardo river in Vicari, a town in Palermo province, while another is missing.  Fifty families were evacuated in Agrigento after the Akragas river broke its banks. The nine people in Sicily were spending the night in the villa in Casteldaccia, part of the Palermo district, when the swollen Milicia river flooded it.
An 87-year-old woman and a 62-year-old German tourist were killed on Friday after being struck by lightning in Sardinia. Three of the party survived – an adult and a child who had left the building on an errand, and a child who was outside and clung onto a tree as the waters rose.
Also on Sicily, one man died after the car he was driving was hit by floodwater from the San Leonardo river in Vicari, also in Palermo province, while another is missing.
Fifty families were evacuated in Agrigento after the Akragas river broke its banks.
The official death toll is yet to be updated but as of Saturday, Italy’s civil protection agency said 20 people had been killed by bad weather since the beginning of the week.The official death toll is yet to be updated but as of Saturday, Italy’s civil protection agency said 20 people had been killed by bad weather since the beginning of the week.
An 87-year-old woman and a 62-year-old German tourist were killed on Friday after being struck by lightning in Sardinia.
Meteorologists have predicted further wind and rain on Sunday.Meteorologists have predicted further wind and rain on Sunday.
Trees covering the mountainsides in the Dolomites range were flattened by winds, which tore through the Veneto region on Thursday. “It’s like after an earthquake,” said the governor of Veneto, Luca Zaia. “Thousands of hectares of forest were razed to the ground, as if by a giant electric saw.”Trees covering the mountainsides in the Dolomites range were flattened by winds, which tore through the Veneto region on Thursday. “It’s like after an earthquake,” said the governor of Veneto, Luca Zaia. “Thousands of hectares of forest were razed to the ground, as if by a giant electric saw.”
He said 160,000 people in the region were left without electricity, adding that parts of the Dolomites were “reduced to looking like the surface of the moon”.He said 160,000 people in the region were left without electricity, adding that parts of the Dolomites were “reduced to looking like the surface of the moon”.
“We’ve been brought to our knees,” the politician said.“We’ve been brought to our knees,” the politician said.
An estimated three-quarters of Venice was submerged earlier in the week following high tides. Interior minister Matteo Salvini travels to Venice on Sunday before going to Belluno.An estimated three-quarters of Venice was submerged earlier in the week following high tides. Interior minister Matteo Salvini travels to Venice on Sunday before going to Belluno.
Storms in the Aosta valley, in north-west Italy, killed two people, aged 74 and 73, on Thursday when a tree fell on their car. Another person fell into a river in the Brescia region and was dragged under by the current.Storms in the Aosta valley, in north-west Italy, killed two people, aged 74 and 73, on Thursday when a tree fell on their car. Another person fell into a river in the Brescia region and was dragged under by the current.
In the Alto Adige region, in the north-east, an 81-year-old died after falling off the damaged roof of his Alpine cottage, while a 53-year-old whose car was hit by a falling tree died on Monday.In the Alto Adige region, in the north-east, an 81-year-old died after falling off the damaged roof of his Alpine cottage, while a 53-year-old whose car was hit by a falling tree died on Monday.
Several towns in the province of Belluno, Veneto, were cut off after a landslide damaged a mountain road and repair efforts were hampered by the insistent heavy rains. Floods in Sicily have closed many roads and mayors ordered schools, public parks, and underpasses shut.Several towns in the province of Belluno, Veneto, were cut off after a landslide damaged a mountain road and repair efforts were hampered by the insistent heavy rains. Floods in Sicily have closed many roads and mayors ordered schools, public parks, and underpasses shut.
The picturesque fishing village of Portofino, near Genoa, a famed holiday resort on the Italian riviera, was reachable only by sea after the main road collapsed and an emergency path was deemed too dangerous. “It won’t be easy or quick but we count on returning Portofino next summer to the millions of tourists who come to visit it,” regional governor Giovanni Toti said.The picturesque fishing village of Portofino, near Genoa, a famed holiday resort on the Italian riviera, was reachable only by sea after the main road collapsed and an emergency path was deemed too dangerous. “It won’t be easy or quick but we count on returning Portofino next summer to the millions of tourists who come to visit it,” regional governor Giovanni Toti said.
He added that the Genoa region alone had suffered tens of millions of euros’ worth of damage – a price tag that could rise to hundreds of millions in the long term.He added that the Genoa region alone had suffered tens of millions of euros’ worth of damage – a price tag that could rise to hundreds of millions in the long term.
The civil protection agency described the weather as “one of the most complex meteorological situations of the past 50 to 60 years”.The civil protection agency described the weather as “one of the most complex meteorological situations of the past 50 to 60 years”.
ItalyItaly
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