Heavy storms and heavy rain: storms wreak havoc in Europe – at least 13 dead

heavy storm and heavy rain
Storm in Europe – at least 13 dead

08/19/2022 10:36 am

Wind gusts in Corsica, devastated beaches in Italy and traffic chaos in Austria: the balance of storms is sometimes disastrous in parts of Europe. In addition to numerous injuries and serious damage, 13 deaths are already known.

At least 13 people died in severe storms in the Mediterranean region and Austria. Six people died on Thursday on the Mediterranean island of Corsica in France alone. A man and a woman were killed in Tuscany, near Lucca and in the coastal city of Carrara, media reported. The storm also caused damage and flooding in other parts of France and Italy. In Austria, a severe storm killed five people and paralyzed traffic in the south of the country.

For this Friday, the German weather service has warned of continued heavy rain in southeast Germany, with extremely heavy rains also possible along the border with Austria. Isolated strong thunderstorms are possible in the northeast.

pull a gust over Corsica

On Thursday, winds gusted over Corsica at a speed of more than 200 kilometers per hour. 45,000 homes were temporarily without electricity. Storms also hit other parts of France and flooded roads, such as in Marseille.

French Interior Minister Gerald Dormanin visited the island of Corsica in the evening. 20 people injured, this is the initial balance sheet. French President Emmanuel Macron promised support for the island and its inhabitants. A crisis team was formed at Macron’s holiday site on the Cote d’Azur in the evening with the participation of Prime Minister Elizabeth Bourne.

Trees fall on campsite in Italy

Severe weather warnings were in place from northern Italy to South Tyrol and large parts of central Italy. Violent storms exceeding 100 kilometers per hour and with heavy rain resulted in injuries to some people, such as at a camp in Marina di Massa, Tuscany, when trees fell.

Tuscany’s regional president Eugenio Gianni shared a video on Twitter of the coastal city of Piombino, in which a Ferris wheel was spinning in strong winds. Other photos showed cars being crushed by trees and ravaged beaches. By noon in the northern coastal region of Liguria and Tuscany, which is popular for holidays, the fire brigade counted more than 150 operations.

A violent storm also struck the lagoon city of Venice in northern Italy, causing umbrellas and tables to fall on the streets. According to the ANSA news agency, fragments of the wall broke from the church tower in the famous St. Mark’s Basilica in the centre. Due to storms in central and northern Italy, civil defense called a crisis team in the afternoon.

two girls died in austria

As announced by police and the Red Cross in Austria, several trees fell in a small bathing lake in Saint Andra in the state of Carinthia on Thursday. Two girls aged four and eight were killed and eleven people were injured, some in critical condition. Further north, three others were killed by a tree in Geming, Lower Austria.

According to the state meteorological service ZAMG, wind speeds of up to 139 km/h were measured. Trains in Styria, Carinthia and East Tyrol stopped temporarily after power supplies for rail traffic failed due to a storm declared by the Austrian Federal Railways.

Due to gusts of wind, dozens of trees fell on the southern Autobahn (A2) in Carinthia near Griffen. There was a power failure in the tunnel as well. Important transport links to Italy were closed in many places for cleaning and repair work. In Styria, thousands of homes were cut from power supply as high voltage lines and 2,000 transformer stations were damaged. “In many cases, our partners have to cut their way to repair work with a chainsaw,” said a spokesperson for Energy Stearmark at ORF. It can take days if not weeks to repair all the damage.