Torrential rains, heavy winds pelt Italy

One dead as floods, landslides wreak havoc

(ANSA) - Rome, September 1 - Unseasonably inclement weather struck throughout Italy between Sunday and Monday, causing damage and leaving at least one person dead. Snow fell above 2,000 meters in the northern Friuli Venezia Giulia region, where volunteer firefighting chief Alexander Mayr, 39, lost his life when a landslide swept him into a torrent.

In Genoa, winds of over 30 knots forced a Lufthansa flight from Munich to be rerouted to Turin. Passengers were taken to Genoa by bus. Operations slowed down in Genoa port due to heavy winds, and fire fighters were called to remove fallen trees and signs, and to secure roofs that were in danger of being blown away. In the Campania region south of Rome, emergency services were working Monday to remove mud and debris from an overflowing river that covered a section of highway linking the cities of Salerno and Avellino. A creek overflowed in a town near Avellino, carrying off eight parked cars, flooding basements, and causing landslides.

In the Naples area, 18 firefighting units are deployed in aid of stranded motorists and to empty out flooded basements after a rainstorm pelted several towns around the provincial capital. In Rome, strong winds tore through one of the city's largest open-air markets, making off with stalls and damaging the merchandise beyond repair. Near the nation's capital, residents of the seaside town of Civitavecchia witnessed a tornado gathering out at sea.