As far as weather catastrophes are concerned, Italy is currently a divided country: while forest fires are raging in the south, especially in Sicily and Sardinia, large parts of the north were hit by severe storms on Tuesday night. There were strong gusts of wind, hail showers and heavy rain.
Milan was particularly affected. The newspaper La Stampa writes in her live blog of an “apocalypse” as far as the conditions in the city are concerned. Photos show fallen trees lying on roads and burying cars. Other shots show damaged houses and roof tiles scattered on the ground. According to Italian media reports, the rain in Milan was short but very intense. In Piazza Sicilia in downtown Milan – the city council responsible for civil protection reported – peaked at 39 liters per square meter in just one hour.
Milan was particularly hard hit by the storms. The picture shows a scaffolding that has been toppled by the wind.
(Photo: Claudio Furlan/dpa)
The Lombardy region, whose capital is Milan, was also badly hit. Hailstones the size of tennis balls fell in some places. In the province of Brescia, a 16-year-old died after being hit by a falling tree in a scout camp.
The storm also raged in the area around Lake Garda, which is popular with Germans. Late Monday evening, a violent hailstorm swept down there – huge hailstones smashed car windows and demolished caravans. Parts of the Veneto region in the north were also affected again. The president of the region, Luca Zaia, announced on Tuesday morning that a 16-year-old had been seriously injured by a branch in the area. Seven people were slightly injured.
The Veneto region was also hit by the storm.
(Photo: dpa)
Severe storms had already hit northern and central Italy last weekend and on Monday, causing considerable damage in some cases. The area around Bologna and the Adriatic coast were affected, but also the provinces of Reggio Emilia, Ferrara and Ravenna. A video that showed crowds of bathers near Ravenna fleeing the wind and rain from the beach caused a sensation.
On Monday evening, a passenger plane operated by the US company Delta Air Lines was caught in a storm shortly after take-off from Milan and had to cancel its flight.
Flight DL185 with destination New York was diverted to Rome, where the machine landed safely on Monday afternoon, as reported by the Ansa news agency. However, the aircraft sustained some damage from the storm.