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At least nine dead as cyclone sweeps across Sardinia

At least nine people are reported to have been killed and hundreds evacuated from their home as a cyclone swept across Sardinia.

Storms and floods caused by Cyclone Cleopatra affected scores of people across the Mediterranean island.

The worst-hit area is believed to be in and around the northeastern city of Olbia.

Three people died when a road bridge collapsed onto their car near Olbia, according to local media reports.

A mother and her daughter were found dead in their car after it was swept away by floods in a separate incident, the BBC reported.

Among the victims was a police officer who died after a bridge collapsed.

“We’re at maximum alert,” Giorgio Cicalo, an official from Sardinia’s civil protection authority, told Italy’s Rai TV. “We haven’t seen a situation as extreme as this, perhaps for decades. Especially because it’s been across the whole island.”


Flight disruption might occur at both Olbia and Cagliari airports due to severe flooding prompted by heavy rains in Sardinia, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office warned.

In a revised travel advisory today, the FCO said that many roads in the north of the island are blocked and train services may also be affected.

“The Italian Civil Protection Agency is closely monitoring the situation and providing assistance,” it added.

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