Strong, bitterly cold winds lash Italy

(ANSA) - Turin, October 22 - Strong, cold winds whipped across Italy as Cyclone Attila attacked the country Wednesday with gusts up to 100 km/h in a number of locations and waves as high as six metres along the coast of Sardinia. The violent mistral from the north has lashed Sardinia since Tuesday afternoon with peaks of 120 km/h on the island's northeastern coast. The winds have so far caused limited interference for flights and ferries, delaying one direct flight from Cagliari to Rome and suspending some ferry connections for the beach resort town Carloforte.
    Firemen have been alerted to a collapsed roof and fallen debris. Wind triggered dozens of calls to firemen in the Turin area, including reports of fallen trees and branches. Gusts reached 100 km/h in nearby mountains and 60 km/h on the plain, reported the environmental agency ARPA Piedmont.
    Rough seas suspended ferries to the islands of Elba and Capraia on the Tuscan coast, and to the island Capri from Naples. Conditions are expected to worsen on Tuscan coast over the next 12 hours, a weather bulletin said. Eastern and northeastern Italy were also affected, with a sand storm reported in Pescara on the Adriatic coast and property damage in Bolzano, near the Austrian border.