ROME: Freak storms and flash flooding following last week´s heatwave in Italy claimed three lives this weekend, including a young woman caught up in a mini-tornado near Rome´s Fiumicino airport.

The 26-year-old woman was driving home at around 2:00 am Sunday when the mini-tornado lifted her car and sent it crashing against a railing.

The highly localised winds tore up trees and scattered debris across the zone it hit.

Further north, a 45-year-old Norwegian competing in an ultramarathon in the Dolomite Mountains died after being hit by lightning as he ran at 2,000 metres altitude on Saturday afternoon. And on Sunday, near Arezzo, south of Florence in the northern Tuscany region, a 70-year-old man died after his car got caught by flash-flooding.

The emergency services found his body in a mud-filled canal.

Coldiretti, Italy´s main agricultural organisation, said hail storms over the last 24 hours had caused millions of euros worth of damage across the country.

Worst hit was the Arezzo province in Tuscany, they said. Orchards, as well as fields of tobacco, sunflowers and corn were completely destroyed, they said. </s> Heavy Weather: Several Dead And Injured In Italy

Heavy rainfall and gusts in the Mediterranean cause seven dead and many injured.

The balance of the heavy storms with heavy rain and storms that affected much of Italy has worsened further. At least seven people were killed by trees, and more than a dozen were injured. On Sunday at least five people had died.

In the province of Frosinone, south of Rome, two people lost their lives on Monday when a tree fell on their car, Italian media reported. In Terracina in Lazio, in Naples and in Savona in Liguria, a total of four people died. Another person died in Feltre in the Dolomiti province of Belluno. On Sunday at least five people had died.

In the provinces of Belluno and Treviso, there were power outages. 160,000 households were affected. Floods and landslides were also reported in Carinthia’s neighboring region Friuli Venezia Giulia.

The bad weather front paralyzed the country from north to south. Schools and kindergartens remained closed in many regions, including Veneto, Liguria, Rome, and parts of Tuscany. Also on Tuesday, they should remain closed in many places, including in Rome.

The severe thunderstorms in the Mediterranean region also hit the Croatian Adriatic coast on Monday. The highways around the northern port city of Rijeka are closed for traffic for the time being due to heavy rain, according to media reports. Due to storms with gale-force winds, numerous ferry connections between Dubrovnik and Rijeka started from the mainland to the islands.

The state weather service issued warning in the morning for the entire Croatian coastal region of the highest level. Also for the hinterland at Gospic and Knin alarm was given in view of the approaching bad weather front.
Heavy storms across central Italy kill three people and cause damages. One death was caused by lightning, one by a tornado, and one by getting caught in a flood.