“It looks like a war bulletin,” said Danilo Lo Giudice, the mayor of Santa Teresa di Riva, commenting on the devastation caused by the extreme weather in the town near Messina.

Among other things, the storms opened up a huge sinkhole on the town’s seafront road.

Dozens of families had to be evacuated in Catania where the sea, whipped up by violent winds, invaded the coastal area of the city.

The Aeolian islands also suffered storm surges overnight, with the sea invading ports, roads and homes.

Firefighters had to rescue a technician for energy giant Enel after he got trapped in his van in flood waters in the Calabrian city of Catanzaro.

Italian farmers have also reported huge damage to crops and their structures, such as greenhouses, due to the storms.

ANSA