Storm Ciaran sweeps into Italy as death toll mounts

The record-breaking winds of Storm Ciaran pushed into Italy on Friday, bringing floods to the Tuscany region and raising the death toll to 10. 

At least seven people died in Germany and neighboring countries before the storm plowed south across the Alps.

What's the latest on Storm Ciaran?

The storm brought rain that caused floods across much of Tuscany overnight into Friday, trapping residents in their homes, flooding hospitals and overturning cars.

Among the dead was an 85-year-old man who was found on the ground floor of his home in the town of Prato, north of Florence.

An 84-year-old woman died while trying to keep water out of her home in the same municipality of Montemurlo. The other fatality was reported in Rosignano, south of Livorno. 

Italian Civil Protection authorities said 200 millimeters (almost 8 inches) of rain fell in just three hours, from the city of Livorno on the coast to the inland valley of Mugello. Some rivers burst their banks, and at least a dozen cars were seen being pushed along the road in one video.

Tuscany's regional president, Eugenio Giani, tweeted pictures showing large tracts of land submerged.

"Our regional system responded with great determination," he wrote. "We have a great heart and strength and we will rebuild what we have lost."

At least three people were missing Friday in Tuscany, with another person unaccounted for in the mountains north of Venice.

What happened earlier?

The storm wreaked homes, stranded travelers and cut power to vast regions as it swept through western Europe.

Wind speeds rose to over 190 kilometers per hour (118 miles per hour), uprooting trees and blowing out windows of homes on the northern tip of France's Atlantic coast.

The powerful storm hit the northwest of France and the southwest of England on Wednesday night before moving on to the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany and Italy on Thursday.

A truck driver was killed in northern France's inland Aisne region when his vehicle was hit by a tree, Transport Minister Clement Beaune said. He urged people to stay off the roads and not drive in the storm.

Meanwhile, a 70-year-old man in the port city of Le Havre died in a fall from his balcony.

Two people were killed by falling tree branches in the Belgian city of Ghent. One of them was a 5-year-old child. A 3-year-old was slightly injured in the same incident, the Ghent prosecutor's office said in a statement.

Falling tree branches also hit three German tourists in the central Ghent Citadel Park, killing a 64-year-old woman. 

In northern Germany, a 46-year-old woman was fatally injured by a falling tree in the Harz mountains.

Dutch media reported that several people had been hit by falling trees in the Netherlands. One person was killed in the southern town of Venray. 

Some 1.2 million French households lost power, electrical utility company Enedis said in a statement. That included about half of the homes in Brittany — the Atlantic peninsula hardest hit by Ciaran.

mk,rc/nm (AP, dpa, AFP, Reuters)