Storm Ciarán surged into Italy's Tuscany area overnight, trapping inhabitants in their houses, inundating hospitals, and toppling automobiles. On Friday, at least five people were murdered, increasing the storm's death toll across Western Europe to 12.
According to Italian Civil Protection officials, 200 millimeters (almost 8 inches) of rain poured in three hours from the seaside city of Livorno to the inland valley of Mugello, causing riverbanks to overflow. At least a dozen automobiles are seen being pushed along a flooded road in the video.
Tuscany Governor Eugenio Giani claimed five people died in the storm, which fell more rain than had been recorded in the previous 100 years. "There was an unprecedented wave of water bombs," Mr. Giani told the Italian news station Sky TG24.
According to the Italian news agency ANSA, the fatalities in Tuscany included an 85-year-old man discovered in the flooded bottom floor of his home near the city of Prato, north of Florence, and an 84-year-old lady who died while attempting to push water out of her home in the same region.
A couple missing near Vinci and a guy in Livorno Province were among the other casualties.
At least one person went missing in Tuscany on Friday, while an off-duty fireman was reported missing in the Veneto Alps north of Venice. Other areas were placed on high alert, and authorities warned that the storm was headed for southern Italy.
On Thursday, Ciarán killed at least seven people as it rushed over Spain, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Germany. The storm destroyed homes, created traffic chaos, and knocked out electricity to a large number of people.
The storm flooded at least four hospitals, including those in Pisa and Mugello. Train lines and roadways were interrupted throughout Tuscany, and schools were shuttered. Hundreds of passengers were stuck, including roughly 150 in Prato, after a rail route was halted Thursday night. On Friday, around 40,000 individuals were without power.
Prato's mayor expressed disbelief at the magnitude of the flood that ravaged the city overnight. Residents were cleaning up the mess by early Friday.
“A blow to the stomach, a pain that brings tears. But even after an evening and night of devastation, we are pulling up our sleeves to clean and bring our city back to normality,’’ Mayor Matteo Biffoni posted on social media.
Florence Mayor Dario Nardella told Sky TG24 that the Arno River, which flows through the city center, has reached the first degree of alarm, with the greatest levels expected at lunchtime. Neither he nor the governor anticipated the river overflowing its banks.
"The psychological fear is high, considering tomorrow is the anniversary of the 1966 flood," Mr. Nardella added, referring to a flood that killed 101 people and damaged or destroyed millions of artistic treasures and valuable literature.
Wind and heavy rain caused landslides, blocked roads, and power outages in Austria's southern Carinthia Province, which borders Italy and Slovenia, on Thursday night. According to the Austrian Press Agency, some 1,600 families were without power early Friday.
The storm passed across northern France and the Atlantic coast on Friday, but heavy rains lingered in certain areas while emergency crews cleaned up debris from the previous day. Meanwhile, Corsica in the Mediterranean had exceptionally strong winds Friday, with gusts reaching 140 kph (87 mph), while flood warnings were issued in the Pyrenees in the southwest.
More than 500,000 French households were without power for a second day, primarily in the western province of Brittany. Trains were suspended in various locations, and several roads were restricted.
French President Emmanuel Macron visited storm-ravaged Brittany on Friday, while Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne visited hard-hit Normandy.
