- In Tuscany, Italy, Storm Ciaran has dumped unprecedented amounts of rain.
- There have been five confirmed deaths, bringing the total number of fatalities in Western Europe to twelve.
- Schools were closed, and traffic on the highways and train lines was disrupted throughout Tuscany.
In Tuscany, Italy, Storm Ciaran has dumped unprecedented amounts of rain, resulting in car flipping, flooding, and hospital inundations. There have been five confirmed deaths, bringing the total number of fatalities in Western Europe to twelve.
Riverbanks overflowed as a result of 200 millimeters of rain falling in three hours from the coast town of Livorno to Mugello, according to Italian Civil Protection officials. On camera, at least twelve cars are seen being forced down a flooded road.
Record-breaking rainfall
A woman, eighty-eight, died in Tuscany while attempting to force water out of her home. An 85-year-old man was discovered inundated on the ground floor of his home near Prato, north of Florence. Ciaran has pounded western Europe and the United Kingdom with strong winds and rain.
It swept across Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, France, Belgium, and the United Kingdom on Thursday, leaving at least seven people dead.
Numerous homes were destroyed, traffic was chaotic, and many people lost power as a result of the storm. At least four hospitals, including those in Pisa and Mugello, were inundated as it passed through. Schools were closed, and traffic on the highways and train lines was disrupted throughout Tuscany.
Following the suspension of a train line on Thursday night, hundreds of people were left stranded and unable to return home, including roughly 150 people in Prato.
While Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne is departing for Normandy, French President Emmanuel Macron is scheduled to visit regions of Brittany devastated by recent storms.
The mayor of Florence, Dario Nardella, issued a warning of high psychological fear because of the anniversary of the 1966 flood, while the mayor of Prato expressed shock at the flood that destroyed the city overnight.
Power outages, landslides, and blocked roads were caused by wind and heavy rain in the southern province of Carinthia in Austria. For a second day, more than 500,000 French homes—mostly in the Brittany region’s west—were without electricity. In both Suffolk and some parts of Norfolk, more than 70 schools were closed, and hundreds of homes in both counties were left without electricity.
There are still flood alerts and weather warnings in effect for the East of England. The storm occurred less than two weeks after Storm Babet, which resulted in numerous fatalities and extensive flooding.
