Deadly Floods and a powerful storm hit the Sicilian city of Catania, leaving at least two dead.
Southern Italy has witnessed a stormy weather for the third consecutive day.
Roads were completely submerged in parts of the island of Sicily.
Dramatic videos went viral on social media showing water gushing through the streets as deadly floods engulfed the city.
Forecasters say a rare Mediterranean hurricane, known as a Medicane, has hit eastern Sicily.
Italy’s Department for Civil Protection issued its most severe weather warning for parts of Sicily and neighbouring Calabria on Tuesday.
The agency warned of potential risk to life and damage to property from heavy rain, thunderstorms and gale force winds in those areas.
The mayor of Catania, Salvo Pogliese, said eastern parts of Sicily were experiencing exceptional weather events “unprecedented” in their intensity.
Citing the “seriousness of the situation”, the mayor ordered the closure of all businesses in Catania except essential services until midnight on Tuesday.
“I urge the entire population to not leave home except for emergency reasons,” the mayor posted on Facebook.
Fresh Flooding Strikes Western Europe
Last Summer, more than 100 people were dead and hundreds more went missing in western Europe as tutorial rains hit the area.
The rainstorm was the worst natural disaster in Europe in living memory.
The heavy rains caused rivers to burst their banks and wash away buildings in Belgium and Germany.
Homes and streets in the Netherlands and Switzerland also flooded.
At least 93 people have died in Germany, including nine people with disabilities. Local authorities who say the toll could rise further.
In Belgium, 12 people were dead.
The floods also hit France, the Netherlands and Switzerland. No casualties are declared till time of writing.
