Storm Ciarán strikes Italy causing flooding in Tuscany

Many parts of Tuscany have experienced flooding because of strong winds and rain. This has caused five deaths and a number of people are still missing.

Cars were taken away by a flood in the River Bisenzio, and people had to go on top of roofs to get away from the heavy rain.

Four hospitals were filled with water, some people were unable to move their cars in underground tunnels and the western coastline experienced strong waves.

Storm Ciarán has led to over 12 deaths in parts of Western Europe.

Earlier, very strong winds were recorded in the north-west coast of France. The storm also caused a lot of wind and damage in southern England, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Germany. It also affected the Atlantic coast of Spain and Portugal.

A tree fell down in Belgium, and sadly a five-year-old child was killed along with another person.

The electric wires fell and it caused a big problem for transportation. People had to leave their homes on the Channel Island of Jersey.

The storm arrived in Tuscany on Thursday night. The governor of the region, Eugenio Giani, said it was an emergency because the winds were very strong at 140km/h.

Livorno, which is a town by the coast, as well as the towns of Prato and Montemurlo near Florence, were some of the places that were hit the hardest.
The mayor of Prato, Matteo Biffoni, said that the events that occurred overnight were extremely upsetting. Floods happened and many areas were underwater. The ground floor of Santo Stefano hospital in town got partially flooded.

The waves on the west coast were very strong, reaching a height of 3. 5 meters Milan experienced flooding again, for the second time in one week, just three days after the River Seveso overflowed.

The storm also caused problems in the northeastern part of Veneto, where one person is not found, and the Governor Luca Zaia said that it rained 160mm for a whole day.

In the eastern part, Slovenia and Croatia had severe weather warnings. Weather experts predicted strong winds, hail, and thunderstorms. In Slovenia, authorities warned about one of the most powerful cyclones in the last decade.