Key events
Italy’s prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, said she is following developments in Tuscany and extended condolences.
Seguo con apprensione l’evoluzione degli eventi calamitosi che hanno colpito in particolare la Toscana ed esprimo il mio profondo cordoglio e quello del Governo per le vittime.
Sono in costante contatto con il ministro Nello Musumeci, con il capo della Protezione Civile Fabrizio…— Giorgia Meloni (@GiorgiaMeloni) November 3, 2023
The president of the Tuscany region has shared photos of the devastation.
Immagini devastanti.
Sono quelle del sopralluogo sopra le aree colpite di Campi Bisenzio, Prato e Quarrata. Ma il nostro sistema regionale ha risposto con grande determinazione. Abbiamo un grande cuore e forza e ricostruiremo quello che abbiamo perso. #Toscana forza! ❤️ pic.twitter.com/b00zJbcIPW— Eugenio Giani (@EugenioGiani) November 3, 2023
Death toll rises to five in Italy
Five people have died, Eugenio Giani, president of the Tuscany region, wrote in a Facebook post this morning as Italy continues to grapple with the impact of storm Ciarán.
Storm Ciarán hit central and northern Italy overnight. Here are photos from Tuscany.
Greece emergency weather warning in effect later today
Greece’s national meteorological service has published an emergency weather bulletin, warning about heavy rains, thunderstorms and hail starting late afternoon today until midday on Sunday.
Three die in Tuscany as Storm Ciarán wreaks havoc in Italy
Angela Giuffrida
Three people have died in Tuscany as Storm Ciarán wreaked havoc in central and northern Italy overnight, bursting river banks and causing severe flooding.
Eugenio Giani, the president of Tuscany, announced a state of emergency, describing the situation as “really very serious”.
“It has been a long and complex night for the entire regional civil protection system,” he posted on social media. “Every energy and every resource is being tirelessly employed.”
In Prato, a city near Florence, where two of the victims, both elderly, are reported to have died, the mayor, Marco Biffoni, said seeing the damage caused by the storm came as “a shock”.
“It was a blow to the stomach and makes you want to cry,” he added. The city’s Santo Stefano hospital was also engulfed with water. “After a night of devastation we will roll up our sleeves to clean and bring our city back to normal,” Biffoni said.
The third victim, an elderly man, died after a care home was flooded in Rosignano, near the port town of Livorno, where winds of up to 120km/h were recorded.
A further three people were reported missing as of Friday morning.
Read the full story here.
Welcome to the blog
Good morning and welcome back to the Europe blog.
Today we will be looking at the continued impact of Storm Ciarán, which wreaked havoc in multiple European countries this week, with fatalities in Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, France and Italy.
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