Hail, strong winds… Milan again hit by violent weather

During the night from Monday to Tuesday, the city’s firefighters were called 200 times. When they woke up, the Milanese discovered their city flooded and littered with uprooted trees.

New apocalypse scenes in Milan. For the second time in less than a week, the Lombard city was the scene of violent storms which caused heavy rains and intense hailstorms overnight from Monday to Tuesday. With the media Corriere Della Serrasome Milanese even spoke of an “apocalypse.”

By Tuesday morning, some city streets were unrecognizable, flooded and littered with uprooted trees. Firefighters spoke of a “tragic” situation. They were called nearly 200 times overnight.

damage

According to Sky News, the heaviest rainfall was around 4 a.m. The local public transport company deplored serious damage to the electricity network, lines of which fell to the ground. The decision was made to prohibit the public from parks and green spaces that are not fenced.

The city’s mayor, Giuseppe Sala, said in a message posted on Instagram on Tuesday morning that “the wind in the city has exceeded 100 kilometers per hour.”

Last Friday, Milan had already been hit by a violent hailstorm, forcing local firefighters to carry out around 110 interventions. The impressive images of water and ice traversing the streets of the city had then made the rounds of social networks.

The phenomenon was not just limited to Milan. In the Brescia region of northern Italy, a 16-year-old girl scout was killed by a tree that fell on her tent in a camp. Firefighters evacuated the other members of the group to a nearby gym.

Southern Italy is suffocating

Along with these bad weather hitting the north of the country, the south is affected by a heat wave with a temperature of 47.6°C recorded Monday in Catania, Sicily, according to the local Civil Protection.

Sicilian firefighters also fought during the night from Monday to Tuesday against several fires, one of which approached Palermo airport, forcing it to close for several hours in the morning. Rail transport is also affected by these fires.