Gales, torrential rain pound Italy

(ANSA) - Rome, October 29 - Six regions are on red alert due to a wave of storms, torrential rain and gales that is battering Italy.
    The regions on maximum alert are Lombardy, Veneto, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Liguria, Trentino-Alto Adige and Abruzzo, with gusts of wind reaching 100km/h in some cases. Schools in many cities, including Rome, are closed on Monday due to the extreme weather. Falling trees and branches injured two people in Milan, destroyed a car in Rome and caused disruption to the B line of the Rome metro and rail links to the seaside district of Ostia. The highway and railway at the Brenner Pass have reopened after being closed late on Sunday due to a landslide in the area of the Italian-Austrian border.
    Vehicles on the Milan-Bologna A1 highway had to be escorted due to flooding. Ground-floor shops and homes in the centre of the Ligurian town of Levanto were evacuated. The Civil Protection Department said the foul weather is expected to peak on Monday afternoon in southern and central Italy, although there will also be big storms in the north. At the weekend a businessman and three workers were killed in a landslide while doing emergency work on a sewer system in the Crotone area after bad weather there.