Flash floods which hit the Mediterranean island of Sardinia during an "apocalyptic" storm have claimed at least 14 lives, authorities said.
Emergency crews were working to reach remote parts of flood-ravaged Sardinia today after an “apocalyptic” rainstorm killed at least 16 people including a family of four.
Prime minister Enrico Letta spoke of a “national tragedy” as flooding caused by Cyclone Cleopatra brought down bridges and swept cars away.
He convened his Cabinet today to declare a state of emergency.
Gianni Giovanelli, mayor of the northern city of Olbia, said it had been destroyed by the storm, with water levels reaching 10 feet high in some places. There were warnings the death toll could still rise as crews reach isolated areas in the countryside where some homes are submerged.
The island, famed for its Costa Smerelda beaches and dry Mediterranean climate, was inundated with 16 ins of rain in 24 hours.
“We’re at maximum alert,” said Giorgio Cicalo, an official from Sardinia’s civil protection authority, adding: “We haven’t seen a situation as extreme as this, perhaps for decades. Especially because it’s been across the whole island.”
The dead were reported to include a family of four of Brazilian origin.
Newspaper L’Unione Sarda said a policeman helping to escort an ambulance died when the car he was in was submerged when a bridge collapsed in Dorgali.
In hard-hit Gallura, three people died when their car was swept away in the collapse of another bridge.
