Roundup: Extraordinary wave of bad weather causes damage, disruption across Italy

A wave of bad weather brought freezing temperatures, snow, and heavy rainfall to Italy on Monday, paralyzing many parts of the country from north to south.

Traffic was disrupted and schools were closed in Sardinia, the second largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, where many cities woke up blanketed in snow.

Unforeseen ice and snow on roadways caused numerous car accidents. A truck remained suspended in precarious balance on a slope for hours, Rai State television reported.

Rai State television also said salt trucks scattered a total of 200,000 kg of salt on roadways in Sardinia to prevent more fatalities from happening.

"Teachers had troubles reaching schools, and families too," Umberto Oppus, a town mayor from near the region's capital city Cagliari said as the reason for school closures.

"Despite the work carried out by salt trucks, we have registered major road damages," he added.

Snow reached the southern coastal city of Naples, covering the summit and slopes of nearby Mount Vesuvius.

Dozens of residents were evacuated from Petilia Policastro, a Calabrian town also in southern Italy, after a landslide caused a building to collapse.

"Evacuation might be necessary for some 200 people if landslides continue to happen," the town's mayor Amedeo Nicolazzi told Adnkronos news agency.

In the nearby region of Basilicata, traffic was slowed in many areas due to snow and ice.

Rising water levels flooded Venice in north-eastern Italy as well on Monday, reaching a high of 113 cm above sea level. Some 18 percent of the city's historic center, including St. Mark's Square, was flooded by very strong tides, the municipal authority reported.

Venice-based Il Gazzettino newspaper said high water was also expected to flood the iconic city on Tuesday.

In Liguria, a region in north-western Italy, the cold weather was accentuated by strong winds, and a snowfall alert remains in force until Wednesday.

An avalanche on Monday claimed the life of a Scandinavian skier in the north-western region of Aosta Valley, the latest death in a series of related fatalities which occurred in recent days, ANSA news agency said.

Local experts warned skiers and mountaineers against back-country expeditions over the next few weeks due to drastic temperature changes, which increases the odds of avalanches.

According to the weather forecast, adverse conditions will continue in the coming days throughout Italy.

Blizzards are expected to affect the regions of Emilia Romagna, Piedmont, Lombardy and Veneto in northern Italy on Thursday. Endit