2 killed as Storm Alex hits Italy, France

GBNEWS24 DESK//

At least two people have died and at least 25 are missing after a powerful storm hit southern France and north-western Italy.

Named Alex, it brought fierce winds and torrential rains causing severe floods.

A number of villages suffered serious damage around the southern city of Nice. Its mayor described it as the worst flooding in living memory, reports BBC.

In northern Italy, roads and bridges were swept away by floodwater, while several rivers overflowed their banks.

One of the victims in Italy was a firefighter in the Aosta Valley, while the other was a man in his 30s whose car was swept into a river in the Piedmont region.

Another 17 people are said to be missing in the country’s north-west after heavy rains hit overnight; among them is a group of at least four German trekkers who did not return from a trip in the mountains, officials said.

In Piedmont, several villages were cut off after the rains made roads impassable. The situation there was described as “extremely critical” by officials.

Hundreds of aid workers have been sent to help rescue efforts in the cut-off villages.

The storm also affected the north-western regions of Lombardy and Liguria.

The city of Venice, which had been braced for high waters after suffering violent storms in August, was successfully protected by a flood barrier system recently declared fully operational.

In France, eight people are said to be missing.