Some of Italy's central and
southern regions were reeling Monday after the weekend brought
snowstorms, ice and plunging temperatures at the weekend.
Schools were also shut down in the Abruzzo capital of
Pescara after 30 municipalities told students to stay home as
the region battles heavy snowfall.
In Campania, heavy snow caused schools to be shut down in
Salerno province and fire fighters rescued motorists in the
Irpinia mountain region.
The southern Molise region continued in emergency mode
after 12 earthquake tremors overnight, snow, ice, and subzero
temperatures.
Schools in 80 out of the region's 136 municipalities were
shut down as snowplows went into action throughout Molise.
Temperatures dropped to -5 Celsius in the regional capital of
Campobasso, which has gotten 50 centimetres of snow, and to -10
C in the town of Capracotta, located at altitude of 1,421 metres
(4,662 feet).
Further south, snow and 50-kilometer winds blowing from the
northwest made connections difficult between the mainland and
the seven Aeolian Islands in the Tyrrhenian Sea north of Sicily.
Ferry service from the Sicilian coast town of Milazzo is
still cut off, leaving 400 Aeolians stranded.
A 35-year-old woman who went into labor on Lipari island
had to taken to Milazzo hospital by helicopter on the night
between Saturday and Sunday, local sources said.
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