CLEARING DAMAGE
Residents were busy Friday mucking out homes, garages and cellars swamped by the floodwaters, throwing damaged furniture and appliances onto the street.
Mayor of Florence Dario Nardella described the situation as “critical” in the city, as the level of the Arno River continued to rise.
Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni announced an initial state aid package of €5 million for the region as she confirmed a state of emergency to fast-track funding and resources.
Trees felled by gale-force winds caused several of the deaths in Europe. In the Belgian city of Ghent, a five-year-old Ukrainian boy and a 64-year-old woman were killed by falling branches.
Falling trees had earlier killed a lorry driver in his vehicle in northern France’s Aisne region, and French officials also reported the death of a man who fell from his balcony in the port city of Le Havre as the storm hammered the French coast.
Three people aboard the Danish-flagged sailboat that capsized off a beach at Torres Vedras north of Lisbon were found dead on the shore near the boat’s wreckage, a navy spokesperson told AFP.
A man in the Dutch town of Venray, a woman in central Madrid and a person in Germany were also killed.
Source: CNA
