Hurricane winds, fierce storms leave 8 dead in France, Italy
By SYLVIE CORBET and COLLEEN BARRY
Associated Press
PARIS (AP) — Violent thunderstorms and hurricane-force winds in France and Italy have left at least eight people dead. The winds uprooted trees and ripped away a restaurant roof on Thursday. The French weather service says the storm produced gusts of more than 220 kph (136 mph) in some areas. Six people were found dead on the French island of Corsica and two were killed in Italy’s Tuscany region. Dozens of people were injured and 12 were hospitalized on Corsica. Tuscany and Veneto in Italy both declared a state of emergency. Storms in recent days have slammed Western European countries after a summer of extreme weather. Central and Eastern Europe, meanwhile, are still suffering from exceptional heat waves and drought.