Towns around Lake Como were especially hit by the wild weather, which caused damage to homes and blocked roads.
No injuries or deaths were reported, but Italian firefighters carried out more than 60 rescues after storms wreaked havoc around the picturesque lake ringed by mountains.
They included bringing to safety an elderly woman blocked in her home, which was almost completely buried by a landslide.
In Brienno, on the lake’s western shore and the hardest-hit town, 50 residents were blocked in their homes when a landslide caused a gas leak.
Further south in Cernobbio, firefighters evacuated two residential buildings threatened by flooding, while trees fell into the river and part of the road fell with them.
#Como, #vigilidelfuoco al lavoro da stamattina per il #maltempo che ha interessato la provincia: frane e smottamenti lungo la SS 340 all'altezza di Laglio e Cernobbio, a Brienno evacuata un'anziana bloccata in casa da detriti insieme a @poliziadistato [#27luglio 12:15] pic.twitter.com/yz5l4I5asa
— Vigili del Fuoco (@emergenzavvf) July 27, 2021
On Monday, hailstones the size of tennis balls temporarily closed a highway in northern Italy and damaged hundreds of cars.
#SevereWeather 📹 Violentissima ed eccezionale #grandinata in Emilia-Romagna.
— Meteored Italia (@meteoredit) July 27, 2021
La grandine ⛈️ ha raggiunto dimensioni enormi in certe zone, causando la rottura di tetti e parabrezza delle auto, oltre alla morte di centinaia di uccelli. pic.twitter.com/DSZh5bnQRI
Lombard Regional Councillor for Civil Protection, Pietro Foroni visited affected areas of Cernobbio and Blevio on Wednesday.
He said the regional government intends to request that the national government declares a state of emergency.
Agricultural lobby group Coldiretti claim extreme weather has intensified in recent years, citing more frequent, sudden and violent storms, as well as short and intense rainfall and rapid changes in conditions.
