Unusual storms
The death toll from fierce storms battering Italy has risen to 11, civil protection authorities have said, as wild weather swept parts of Europe on Tuesday, leaving motorists and tourists stranded.
Road were blocked and thousands of people were left without power in southern and central Europe, as rains and violent winds sparked flooding and tore trees from their roots.
Thick snow has also cloaked French and Italian mountain regions, trapping hundreds of drivers in their cars and tourists in hotels.
In Italy, where Venice was inundated by near-record flooding and ferocious storms drove high winds reaching up to 180 km/h, authorities announced a further six deaths, after confirming five people had died on Monday.
“We are facing one of the most complex meteorological situations of the past 50 to 60 years,” said Angelo Borrelli, head of the national civil protection agency.
Luxury yachts lay smashed in the harbor of Rapallo near Genoa after a dam broke under pressure. “It was like a tsunami,” one port worker said.
Italian media reported that around 170 people, tourists and hotel staff, were stranded by snowfall at the Stelvio Pass on the Swiss border.
Meanwhile, in Friuli Venezia Giulia, local authorities said some 23,000 people were without power.
In France, more than 1,000 drivers were trapped in their cars for the night in the mountains of the Massif Central region as the roads were engulfed in snowstorms.
Another 400 had to spend the night in train carriages at the main station in the eastern city of Lyon after heavy snow blocked the tracks.
In Venice, tourists were barred from St Mark’s Square as local authorities said the “acqua alta” (high water) peaked at 156 centimeters. The waters have only topped 150 cm five times before in recorded history.
In other places, The Pompeii archaeological complex near Naples and the Colosseum and Roman Forum were all shut early because of the bad weather, and ferry services to the islands of Sardinia and Elba were halted because of the extremely high winds. Meteorologists expect the harsh weather to gradually ease.