1 of 2 | A view of a fallen tree over a car after strong winds hit Terracina, Italy, on Monday. Photo courtesy of EPA-EFE
Oct. 29 (UPI) -- Storms, mudslides and strong winds across Italy left five people dead and one missing, forcing firefighters to carry out 1,600 interventions, while high tides in Venice have covered 70 percent of the historic center, Italian press reported Monday.
Three of the deaths occurred in the central region of Lazio: A man and a woman died in the province of Frosinone after a pine tree crashed into the vehicle in which they traveled, while a 57-year old man was killed by a falling tree in Latina, Il Corriere della Sera reported Monday.
In the southern region of Campania, a 21-year old man was hit by a tree and later died from his injuries in a nearby hospital. A woman in the same region remains in serious condition after similar injuries.
A woman in the province of Savona, a port in northwest Italy, was killed by an object lifted by the wind. In Ancona, located in central Italy along the Adriatic coast, a man remains seriously injured after falling from a roof.
The owner of a sailboat that crashed Sunday against rocks in the port of Catanzaro, in southern Italy, remained missing Monday, the newspaper added.
Officials recommended that city authorities ask the population to limit movements, and counseled the closing of schools and businesses. Many schools in several areas of the country were closed Monday and would likely remain so on Tuesday, though the weather is expected to improve.
Firefighters reported 1,600 interventions, with 700 of them in the north-central region of Toscana.
In Venice, residents saw rapidly rising water during the afternoon causing a record high tide of 61 inches, which flooded 70 percent of the historic city center. The city's public boat transportation service was canceled and a few units were only working to pick up passengers stranded in flooded stops.
The highway pass between Italy and Autria at Brennero was closed twice during the day. There were multiple reports affecting agriculture, ranging from flooded fields in the north to the loss of olives in the south because of the wind.
Italian newspaper Il Messaggero counted six deaths as a result of the bad weather.
In addition to multiple people injured, property damage and stranded tourists, the weather events also delayed train, airplane and highway traveling.
