A LANDSLIDE at an Italian cemetery has seen coffins tumble off a cliff face, as wild weather batters Europe causing deadly flash flooding.
Around 20 coffins slid into the ravine below the cliff-side cemetery in Crotone, southern Italy, as intense rainfall caused a landslide in the lower part of the old cliff-side cemetery.
Mayor Levino Rajani said the damage of San Mauro Marchesato cemetery was a “profound wound” to the community.
“It’s a wound that affects the memory, respect and dignity of our loved ones, causing endless pain,” he said.
He said skilled climbers would recover the coffins as soon as it was safe to do so.
Sicilians had to run for their lives from towering storm-surge wave which smashed straight into the harbour while two people died in Greece and Malta experienced ice torrents, as wild weather ravages Europe.
Sicily was lashed with wild weather as Cyclone Harry continues to cause havoc, prompting a state of emergency.
In what looks like a tidal wave, a street in Letojanni – north of Catania – was engulfed by flood water on Tuesday evening, with the currents taking everything in its wake.
Loose rubbish bags were the first items to be washed away in the storm, followed by chairs and heavily weighted pot plants.
In another video from Messina, giant waves are flooding the coastal city, rolling straight in from the sea.
A horrifying video shows the moment the sky becomes dark, the light blocked out by an enormous wave, before it crashed down to the shore and flooded the street.
Cyclone Harry has been wreaking havoc across the Mediterranean island, with governors pushing for the government to call a regional state of emergency, as Sicily, Calabria, and Sardinia were placed on red alert.
The island is also expecting up to 300 millimetres of rain in just two days.
Shocking videos show the moments Sicilian streets are turned into rivers, leaving residents running, with rubbish, pot plants, outdoor furniture and cars washing away.
Powerful waves submerged roads and pavements, as sea foam appeared to reach the ground floors of nearby buildings.
Passersby could also be seen wading through the water trying to get to safety.
Meanwhile in Greece, woman tragically died while walking home from work in a horror flash flood.
The 56-year-old was traversing raging flood waters in her southern Athens suburb when she was knocked off her feet by the torrential water stream.
She was swept along the road, which had turned into a roaring murky river, and was eventually trapped under a parked car.
Local media report that she couldn’t get her head above the water and drowned.
She passed away despite the best efforts of witnesses who rushed to her aid but could not free her.
Authorities warned of the hazardous weather conditions which saw strong rain, thunderstorms and gale-force winds ravage overnight.
Torrential rain flooded homes and businesses across Athens and other parts of Greece.
The dangerous flow carried cars, garbage cans and debris though residential streets, submerging homes and causing extensive damage.
The fire brigade received hundreds of calls to pump water out of flooded buildings in Athens.
The Peloponnese, central Greece, the greater Athens area, Thessaly, the northern Aegean and western Macedonia have all been placed under a state of mobilisation.
Residents of Athens, Viotia and Evia have received emergency text alerts urging them to limit their movements.
Schools have also been closed in several regions.
Earlier on Wednesday, a coast guard officer was washed away by the rough sea in a port in Peloponnese, southern Greece.
“Ηe fell into the sea while he was trying tie up a small boat in the harbour,” said a coast guard official.
The rainstorm is expected to move to the eastern part of the country later in the week.
Malta, a Mediterranean hotspot usually associated with bright blue skies and beautiful coastlines, experienced the severe storm over the weekend.
Dramatic video shows rivers of mini icebergs flowing down streets and large accumulation of hail trapping cars.
Authorities can be seen working furiously to clear the roads, with diggers shovelling heaps of ice off the roads.
The western regions of Rabat and Bahrija were the most seriously affected and experienced several centimetres of hail.
The Civil Protection Department put out a warning on Sunday evening urging residents to avoid rooftops, balconies and hillsides overnight, as the country braced itself for gale-force winds.
