Grains the size of tennis balls: Extreme hail in northern Italy claims more than 100 injuries

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The Veneto region has seen violent thunderstorms in recent days. The result: flooding and enormous hailstorms with grains of more than 10 centimeters in size. Images on social media show the extreme size of the hailstones.

The reason for the extreme conditions was the heat wave at the beginning of the week with temperatures above 40 degrees. “The violence of the storms was directly proportional to the extreme heat that preceded it,” the Italian weather service said.

The Veneto region was the hardest hit. The heavy hail not only caused considerable material damage, but also injured people. The hailstones had a diameter of more than 10 centimeters, about the size of a tennis ball.

At least 110 people were injured during the night of the storm and had to be taken to hospital. In addition, a serious accident occurred due to the weather: a man was riding a bicycle, followed by his wife. Due to the weather, he fell and was run over by his wife.

More than 500 emergency calls for property damage and personal injury have been received, according to the Veneto Regional Civil Protection. “No province was spared the storms; whole fields, orchards and vineyards were destroyed; Greenhouses were also destroyed,” said the Italian farmers’ association Coldiretti. Clean-up work is underway. (lia)

Source: Blick