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Violent Storms, Floods and Tornadoes Batter Southern and Central Europe

Following weeks of extreme heat and widespread fires, the storms are testing Europe’s overstretched emergency services and response capacity.

Overview

  • Storms that began Thursday have brought intense thunderstorms, flash floods, violent winds and tornadoes across Spain, Italy, France and Germany, producing widespread damage and power outages.
  • In Italy, the Liguria town of Chiavari recorded about 126mm of rain in hours that turned streets into rivers and prompted urgent flood warnings for the region.
  • Spain’s east coast faced heavy storms after a record hot night, with Valencia under orange alerts as trees fell, urban flooding occurred and emergency teams logged dozens of interventions.
  • A tornado tore roofs from buildings in Fürstenwalde, Germany, causing injuries and structural damage, and southern France carried out precautionary evacuations of holidaymakers from a campsite in Pégomas.
  • Emergency services are stretched by concurrent fires and floods, with Serbia accepting a Russian IL-76 firefighting plane because EU aerial resources are limited and EFFIS data shows the 2026 fire season has burned over 600,000 hectares.