Storms caused major disruption to many parts of Italy on Thursday, with tornadoes battering Civitavecchia and the province of Verona side of Lake Garda and torrential rain causing flooding and mudslides in the province of Como.
Firefighters had to intervene in many areas due to trees that were blown over or rendered dangerous by gale-force winds.
Floods and landslides hit Como and the nearby towns of Torno and Blevio, sending mud and debris into residential areas, with the extreme weather striking the same area affected by similar storms a year ago.
“Water got in everywhere,” said an eyewitness in Blevio.
“All it took was an hour of rainfall for all hell to break loose”.
The Lariana state highway had to be closed to traffic and the storms also caused major problems in the Lecco area.
Scientists say that extreme weather events like these are becoming more intense and more frequent because of climate change caused by human activity.
