Oct. 29 (UPI) -- Storms, mudslides and strong winds across Italy left five people dead and one missing, forcing firefighters to carry out 1,600 interventions, while high tides in Venice have covered 70 percent of the historic center, Italian press reported Monday.

Three of the deaths occurred in the central region of Lazio: A man and a woman died in the province of Frosinone after a pine tree crashed into the vehicle in which they traveled, while a 57-year old man was killed by a falling tree in Latina, Il Corriere della Sera reported Monday.

In the southern region of Campania, a 21-year old man was hit by a tree and later died from his injuries in a nearby hospital. A woman in the same region remains in serious condition after similar injuries.

A woman in the province of Savona, a port in northwest Italy, was killed by an object lifted by the wind. In Ancona, located in central Italy along the Adriatic coast, a man remains seriously injured after falling from a roof.

The owner of a sailboat that crashed Sunday against rocks in the port of Catanzaro, in southern Italy, remained missing Monday, the newspaper added.

Officials recommended that city authorities ask the population to limit movements, and counseled the closing of schools and businesses. Many schools in several areas of the country were closed Monday and would likely remain so on Tuesday, though the weather is expected to improve.

Firefighters reported 1,600 interventions, with 700 of them in the north-central region of Toscana.

In Venice, residents saw rapidly rising water during the afternoon causing a record high tide of 61 inches, which flooded 70 percent of the historic city center. The city's public boat transportation service was canceled and a few units were only working to pick up passengers stranded in flooded stops.

The highway pass between Italy and Autria at Brennero was closed twice during the day. There were multiple reports affecting agriculture, ranging from flooded fields in the north to the loss of olives in the south because of the wind.

Italian newspaper Il Messaggero counted six deaths as a result of the bad weather.

In addition to multiple people injured, property damage and stranded tourists, the weather events also delayed train, airplane and highway traveling. </s> Ten people, including a family of nine, have died in floods around Palermo on the southern Italian island of Sicily, rescue services said on Sunday as fierce storms continue to exact a deadly toll.

They said the bodies of the family, including children aged 1, 3 and 15, were found in their house in Casteldaccia next to a small river which had burst its banks.

Three other members of the same family were able to escape, according to the Agi news agency.

Separately, a man was found dead in his car while two other people are missing.

Earlier this week in Sicily, floods closed many roads and mayors ordered schools, public parks and underpasses shut.

Italy, especially in the north and around Venice, has been hit by a series of strong storms which have claimed at least 20 lives and caused massive damage and disruption.

Trees covering the mountains in the Dolomites range were reduced to matchsticks, flattened by winds that tore through the Veneto region on Thursday.

"It's like after an earthquake," Veneto governor Luca Zaia said. "Thousands of hectares of forest were razed to the ground, as if by a giant electric saw."

Italy's civil protection agency described the weather lashing the country this week as "one of the most complex meteorological situations of the past 50 to 60 years".



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Heavy floods and strong winds in the comune of Manduria in Taranto, Italy, destroys several buildings and roads, leaving at least one person injured.