Storm Ciarán sweeps across Europe leaving 14 dead and bringing record rainfall to Italy
At least 14 people have been killed after Storm Ciarán continued its deadly journey across Europe.
The storm killed six people in Italy while in Albania, police said a motorist died when he lost control while driving a car, which slid and hit barriers.
Nearly eight inches of rain fell in a three-hour period from the coastal city of Livorno to the inland Mugello valley, with floodwaters trapping residents in their homes, inundated hospitals and overturned cars.
Many roads in the country were flooded, including in the capital, Tirana.
Other regions in Italy were on high-alert and authorities warned the storm was heading towards southern Italy.
Ciarán left at least seven people dead as it swept across Spain, France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany on Thursday.
In Tuscany, an 85-year-old man was found in the flooded ground floor of his home near the city of Prato, north of Florence, and an 84-woman who died while trying to remove water from her home in the same area, according to Italian news agency ANSA.
Other victims included a couple who had been missing near the town of Vinci and a person in Livorno province. Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera said on Friday evening that the wife of the man whose body was found earlier in the town near Prato also died.
At least two people were missing in Tuscany, along with an off-duty firefighter reported missing in the mountains of Veneto, north of Venice. Other regions were on high-alert and authorities warned that the storm was heading toward southern Italy.
More than a half-million French households remained without electricity for a second day, mainly in the western region of Brittany. Trains were halted in several areas and many roads remained closed.
The storm hit Britain and Ireland on Wednesday night and Thursday. In Jersey, which was hit by 100mph winds, many roads remained impassable due to fallen trees and storm debris, emergency services are continuing their efforts to reopen roads. Many households remained without power.
Although Storm Ciarán has largely eased in the UK, a yellow warning has been issued to last from 5am on Saturday to 11.59pm – stretching from Kent to Cornwall.
The Met Office said the storm had now moved into the North Sea, but parts of southern England especially would continue to see heavy rain on Saturday.
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