Two people died on Thursday during a storm that uprooted trees and swept away roofs in Tuscany, announced this region of central Italy, where around fifty people were also injured.
The civil protection agency has prepared emergency accommodation in schools and gymnasiums for people forced from their homes after high winds and torrential rain hit the region between the coast and the tourist city of Florence, killing a man in Lucca and a woman in Carrara.
Both were victims of falling trees, according to local media.
Climate change in the dock
Several people were injured by falling trees at the seaside Marina di Massa campsite, while four others were rushed to hospital in the medieval town of Barga after the car they were in were hit by a torn roof, according to the local news site Toscana in Diretta.
According to experts, climate change due to human activity is increasing the intensity and frequency of extreme weather events, such as heat waves, droughts and forest fires, but also storms accompanied by heavy rains.
Storms all over the peninsula
A large part of the peninsula is affected by these storms: some fragments of the bell tower of Saint Mark's Basilica in Venice fell on Thursday.
Veneto, which includes Venice, has declared a state of emergency, as has Tuscany.
Milan, like Florence, decided to close public parks and gardens on Friday and asked residents not to park or walk under trees and to make sure nothing on their balconies is in danger of falling.
Civil Protection has issued a state of alert for the next 24 hours for the regions of central Italy (Umbria, Marche, Lazio, Abruzzo, etc.) which will be affected by heavy rains and gusts of wind.
On the other hand, the situation should improve in the north of the peninsula.
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