The death toll from severe storms across Italy has risen to nine, as wild autumn weather continues to wreak havoc across Europe. Winds reaching 110mph have caused widespread destruction, with mudslides, falling trees, and flooding claiming lives in several regions.
A woman died in a mudslide that engulfed her home in Trentino, northern Italy. A man was killed by a falling tree in Veneto, and a firefighter lost his life during relief operations in South Tyrol. Another man died while kitesurfing near Cattolica on the Adriatic coast, after strong winds blew him into rocks.
Venice experienced near-record flooding, with water levels peaking at 156cm, exceeding 150cm for only the sixth time in recorded history. Tourists were barred from St Mark’s Square as authorities managed the crisis. Meanwhile, about 170 tourists and hotel staff were stranded by heavy snowfall at the Stelvio pass on the Swiss border.
In France, over 1,000 drivers were trapped in their cars overnight in the Massif Central region due to snowstorms. Another 400 spent the night in train carriages in Lyon after heavy snow blocked tracks. Approximately 195,000 homes lost power across mainland France, with an additional 21,000 affected on Corsica, where red alerts shut airports and ports.
Other European countries have also been hit. Croatia’s Adriatic coast faced gales and heavy rains, flooding streets and disrupting power and transport. Storms swept into Switzerland, blocking roads with fallen trees and damaging buildings. In Austria, hundreds of mobile anti-flooding dams were deployed as rivers burst their banks, and a roof section from Salzburg’s medieval ramparts was torn off by high winds.
