(see related story on gas explosion) The wave of extreme weather that claimed three lives in Italy on Thursday continued to sow misery in many parts of the country on Friday.
Two central Italian motorways, the A24 and A25, were both closed Friday due to heavy snow, although the authorities managed to get the A24 open again later in the day.
But traffic on the A25 between Pratola and Celano in the province of L'Aquila remained closed and some train lines were blocked by fallen trees. Services on the Rome-Florence high-speed train line suffered delays. The situation was so bad in Abruzzo that come politicians called for state of a emergency to be declared there.
Parts of the southern region of Molise and Basilicata were paralysed by snow too, with many schools closed and damage caused by trees keeling over. Firefighters said Friday that they had carried out around 2,000 interventions in Tuscany in the previous 24 hours linked to damage caused by gales.
Strong winds force ferry operators to suspend links between Naples and Capri. In Naples the wind ripped the corrugated iron roof off a home, and it was only luck that stopped the flying sheets of metal injuring anyone.
Another disaster was narrowly averted in the southern city when winds caused scaffolding to collapse and land on several parked cars. Fortunately, no one was in the cars.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED © Copyright ANSA
