OLBIA, Italy, Nov. 20 (UPI) -- Residents in Sardinia, Italy, said they weren't properly warned about storms that killed 18 people and forced nearly 3,000 from their homes.
Torrential rain from the storm called Cleopatra caused waves of water to sweep across the island, causing residents to scramble to the top levels of their homes, ANSA reported.
Prime Minister Enrico Letta declared a state of emergency Tuesday and the Italian government pledged an initial $27 million in disaster aid.
The Italian Bishops Conference pledged $1.35 million in relief and the regional government pledged $6.77 million more, ANSA said.
Letta called the deaths and destruction "a national tragedy."
Some residents questioned why they weren't properly warned about the oncoming storm, ANSA reported.
"I have lived in Olbia for 40 years and I had never seen such a thing," an unidentified resident said.
Franco Gabrielli, the head of the national civil protection body, said the warning system worked, but no one could have predicted this "exceptional event."
