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As reported on Thursday, heavy thunderstorms lashed the French island of Corsica.
Heat wave followed by severe storms: Not only Switzerland, Spain, Italy and France are also experiencing severe thunderstorms. A total of eight people died as storms lashed France’s Mediterranean island of Corsica and Italy’s Tuscany.
Also, several injuries were reported in both areas due to the violent storm on Thursday. The storm also caused damage and flooding in other parts of France and Italy.
The wind is blowing at a speed of 200 kilometers per hour
As reported by the office in Corsica, six deaths include children: a 13-year-old girl was hit by a tree in a camp on the west coast. A 72-year-old man died on the beach when the roof of a beach hut fell on his car. A dead kayaker was found on the east coast and a fisherman was found dead on the west side of the island. French Interior Minister Gérald Dormanin, 39, who was expected on the island in the evening, said two more had died.
According to Dharman, 20 people were injured. This is a preliminary balance sheet. French President Emmanuel Macron, 44, pledged support for the island and its residents. A crisis team was formed at Macron’s vacation spot on the Cote d’Azur in the evening, with the participation of Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne.
Winds of up to 200 kilometers per hour swept over Corsica. 12 people were injured in the south of the island. 45,000 households are without electricity. Elsewhere in France, such as Marseille, there were storms and flooded roads.
Cars crushed by trees
A man and a woman were killed by falling trees in Tuscany and the coastal town of Carrara near Lucca, according to several media outlets. A severe weather warning was in place for large parts of South Tyrol and central Italy in the north of the country. Strong gusts of more than 100 kilometers per hour and heavy rain hit a campsite in Marina di Massa, Tuscany, where trees fell, injuring some.
Eugenio Gianni, 63, the head of Tuscany’s region, shared a video on Twitter from the coastal town of Piombino, showing a Ferris wheel spinning in strong winds. Other photos showed cars crushed by trees and devastated beaches. The fire brigade counted more than 150 operations on the northern coast of Liguria and Tuscany, popular with holidaymakers, by midday.
A violent storm swept through the northern Italian lagoon city of Venice, knocking over umbrellas and tables in the streets. Fragments of the wall broke through the church tower at the famous St. Mark’s Basilica in the center, according to Anza. Civil defense called in a crisis team in the afternoon due to storms in central and northern Italy.
Four and eight-year-old girls die in storm in Austria
5 people died in severe storm in Austria on Thursday. Several trees fell into a small bathing lake in St. Andra in the state of Carinthia on Thursday, the police and the Red Cross said. Two girls, aged four and eight, died and eleven others were injured, some seriously. Further north, three more people were killed by a tree in Gamming, Lower Austria.
According to the state weather service ZAMG, storm speeds of up to 139 km/h were measured in southern Austria. Dozens of trees fell on the southern Autobahn (A2) in Carinthia near Griffen due to high winds. There was also a power outage in the tunnels.
It can take weeks to repair the damage
In Styria, high-voltage lines and 2,000 substations were damaged, leaving tens of thousands of homes without power. “In many cases, our colleagues have to cut the road to repair work with a chainsaw,” a spokesperson for Energy Steermark told broadcaster ORF. It could take days if not weeks to repair all the damage.
The Austrian Federal Railways announced that in Styria, Carinthia and East Tyrol, all trains were suspended after the storm caused a power failure for rail traffic. A vital transport link to Italy was closed in several places for cleaning and repair work. (SDA/dzc)
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