One dead, several hurt as gale-force winds sweep Italy

ROME, Jan. 17 (Xinhua) -- One man died and several people were hurt as gale-force winds from the Atlantic swept Italy overnight and into the day on Wednesday, local media reported.

The 100-km/h winds -- which reached force of 200 km/h in some high-altitude locations -- drove waves onto the shore, damaged power lines, tore roofs off buildings and uprooted trees from north to south.

In the Calabria region in the tip of Italy's boot, a man fell to his death while checking a roof that had been torn off by the wind, ANSA news agency reported.

In the same region, ENEL electricity company is working to restore power to areas where the wind has caused damage, ANSA said.

Windswept seas caused ferry service to Italy's islands to be cancelled and ski resorts in the northern Piedmot and Val d'Aosta regions to shut down, RAI public broadcaster reported.

In Rome, a teenager was hospitalized after she was hit in the head by a tile that flew off the roof of her high school, and two adults were injured by trees falling on their cars.

Another woman was injured in similar circumstances on Elba Island. Also in Tuscany, a 200-meter Norwegian cargo ship was torn from its moorings and slammed into the dock at Livorno port overnight, according to ANSA.

"1,226 emergency interventions since 8 a.m. on the Tirrhenian side our peninsula," emergency services tweeted along with pictures of firefighters at work.

Televised images showed trees lying across streets and crushing cars in various cities, and huge waves battering coasts and port cities.

The gale-force winds are expected to continue into Thursday, the weather service said. Enditem