• Bad weather: rain, wind and storm surges lash Italy. Difficulties for snow in the North

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15 November 2019After the high water that put Venice on its knees, in addition to Northern Italy, France and Great Britain ended up in the grip of bad weather. In France, already scourged at the beginning of the month by the storm Amélie, the first sudden and abundant snowfalls are recorded in more regions of the South-East, which have caused one dead, one wounded and 330 thousand homes without light. 11 departments were affected, including Savoy, Alpes-Maritimes, Isére and Rhone, with heavy damage to electrical installations that caused extensive blackouts to private homes, public buildings and the interruption of some rail links between Grenoble, Lyon and Valence. The broadcaster Chaine météo confirmed a snow record for the first half of November at Lyon Saint-Exupéry airport, with 14 cm fallen in a few hours.

One dead and one wounded
To lose their lives in the commune of Roche (Isére Nord) was a 63-year-old motorist intent, with other people, to move a fallen tree under the weight of snow, while a second tree fell, killing him. A 27-year-old was still injured in the incident.

"Usually we are able to restore the energy in most houses, but in this case the strong concentration of the bad weather is delaying the interventions", the Secretary of State for Transport, Jean-Baptiste Djebbari, told Europe 1, announcing the arrival of reinforcements to the 1,300 agents already operating on the ground. On some motorway sections in different regions the circulation of vehicles of more than 7.5 tons is prohibited.

Great Britain flood warning
In Britain, after a night of violent storms, the Environment Agency has issued 147 flood warnings in almost all regions of England and Wales, urging the population to be cautious, while the four corners of the country are underway urgent interventions. In Yorkshire, machinery is pumping 2.5 tons of water per second from the village of Fishlake, where soldiers have been deployed to support local rescuers. In some areas of Wales and Herefordshire about 50 mm of rain fell in just 24 hours, bringing the mercury column below 2 degrees in a part of the South-East.

Under observation the rivers
The level of many local rivers is rising rapidly, putting the safety of motorcyclists, motorists and nearby residents at risk. National meteorological services have pointed out that this is unusually heavy rainfall for this time of year. The government has held another Cobra council to coordinate relief operations and assess the extent of the damage that is expected to be "considerable", reports the Guardian newspaper. Local authorities in several regions have already requested additional funding to cope with the upcoming waves of bad weather.