Storm in Corsica kills 3, wounds 12

A violent thunderstorm struck the French island of Corsica on Thursday morning, killing three people and injuring more than a dozen, local authorities said.

A 13-year-old girl died after a tree fell at a campsite in the coastal town of Sagon, the state of Corsica said in a statement.

A 72-year-old woman has died when the roof of a beach restaurant in Coggia, south of Sagone, collapsed onto her car.

The third victim, a 46-year-old man, was killed in a campsite in the town of Calvi.

One of the 12 injured was hospitalized in critical condition, the county added.

The storm produced gusts of more than 136 mph (220 km/h) in some areas, France’s national weather agency Meteo France said.

About 45,000 homes in Corsica were without power, according to French electricity company EDF.

French Mediterranean maritime authorities said on Twitter that rescue operations were underway on the west coast of Corsica to help several stranded and wrecked ships.

Gilles Simeoni, chairman of Corsica’s executive committee, described a brief but “extremely violent and completely unpredictable” weather event lasting “tens of minutes”.

Mr Simeoni told news broadcaster BFM TV that French President Emmanuel Macron called him to share “emotion” and “solidarity”.

Violent storms have battered France and neighboring countries in recent days after a summer of drought, heatwaves and forest fires.

In southern France, thunderstorms flooded the Old Port of Marseille and the city’s main courthouse on Wednesday and forced the closure of nearby beaches.

Winds at the top of the Eiffel Tower topped 60 mph (100 kph) during flash flooding on Tuesday.

In northern Italy, a violent nighttime storm forced the closure of a train line in southeastern Genoa as strong winds blew dressing rooms and other items from a nearby beach onto the tracks, damaging the circuit.

The storm hit Italy’s busiest week for beach holidays early Thursday.

Sestri Levanti Mayor Valentina Ghio said a cyclone was expected and she urged tourists to stay off beaches until the bad weather passed.

Hailstones the size of walnuts hit areas in the Liguria region with enough force to break windows in houses and damage orchards and gardens.

While northern Italy has suffered its worst drought in decades this year, heavy rains in recent days have brought sporadic hail, cyclones and flooding that have damaged or destroyed entire fruit and vegetable crops, as well as grapes, said Coldiretti, the Italian agriculture lobby group. orchards and olive groves.