'Apocalyptic' storm floods Sardinia, 17 people confirm dead

The Mediterranean isle of Sardinia, valued by the jet-set for its white sand sandy shores
and crystal-clear seas, was a flood-ravaged mud bath Tuesday after a freak torrential rainstorm slain
at least 17 persons, downed bridges and cleared away cars.

Italian Premier Enrico Letta announced a state of emergency and set apart 20 million euros ($27 million)
for emergency relief, saying the main concern was reaching locals, saving the lives of
those still unaccounted for and supplying for those left homeless.

The island, which draws royals, entrepreneurs and commonplace visitors alike throughout the dry, peak
summer months, recieved more than 44 centimeters (17.3 inches) of rain in 24 hours Monday — half the
amount it normally receives in a year, agents said.

Italy's municipal defence chief, Franco Gabrielli, said the death toll may still increase as crews come
to isolated areas in the rural areas where some homes are submerged.

Transport was hampered by streams of cocoa-colored mud gushing over streets that compelled the closure
of some major thoroughfares, encompassing a burrows into the city of Olbia, according to the Anas
business which runs Italy's streets and main streets.

Olbia Mayor Gianni Giovannelli said the town had been destroyed by the "apocalyptic" gale, with
connections felled and water grades coming to 3 meters (10 feet) in some locations. He described the
ferocity of the storm's rains as a "water bomb."

Gabrielli kept safe the municipal protection's attentive system, which had signaled an increased"
risk of the gale on much of Sardinia, the highest level of alert. He alerted against day-after
finger-pointing, saying evacuation orders had been handed out and disregarded and that no weather
forecast could have predicted the "exceptional" degree of devastation.

Sardinia's governor, Ugo Cappellacci, said the 17 dead encompassed a family of four, allegedly of
Brazilian source, in Arzachena.

localized bulletin L'Unione Sarda said a policeman assisting to escort an hospital vehicle past away
when the vehicle he was travelling in was submerged in the collapse of a connection in Dorgali.
In hard-hit Gallura, three people died after their vehicle was cleared away in the collapse of another
connection, the paper said.

Sardinia is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean and is one of Italy's autonomous regions.
While it's renowned to visitors for its unspoiled Costa Smeralda sandy shores, the island's central is
known for its sheep and pastoral life. Sardinians are famed for their exceptional longevity.

Other parts of Italy were furthermore strike by hefty rains Tuesday, including the capital, Rome, and
Venice in the north, where residents and visitors donned rubber boots to slosh through a St. brands'
rectangle inundated from the "acqua alta" high tides that periodically submerge the lagoon city.
See more pics after the cut...

 

 


May God deliver us ALL...