Five tornadoes sweep through Genoa, northern Italy

Five tornadoes swept through northern Italy on Tuesday, August 19, 2014, prompting flights to be diverted and causing millions of Euros worth of damage. The tornadoes hit around the port city of Genoa. Some eyewitnesses claim they came close to hitting the wreck of the Costa Concordia cruise ship. 

La Repubblica reported that flights to the city's airport were diverted. Trains were also interrupted and roads closed. Damage is said to amount to millions of Euros, with roofs ripped off buildings in the Prà neighborhood and the seafront strewn with sun loungers hit by the stormy weather. 

100 mm of rain fell in just 1 hour (between 11:00 – 12:00 local time). In the last Genoa flood, on November 4, 2011, 180 mm of rain was reported in one hour.

"Locals can be heard responding to the "day of fear", as described by YouReporter, as they watch the tornadoes from afar. "It's incredible" one person can be heard saying, while others remark on the huge size of one of the tornadoes and another on its impressive nature." (TheLocal.it)​

Featured image: YouReporter.it video screenshot