THUNDERSTORM WREAKS HAVOC IN ROME

THUNDERSTORM WREAKS HAVOC IN ROME

(ANSA) - Rome, October 20 - Rome Mayor Gianni Alemanno called for a state of emergency Thursday as heavy storms wreaked havoc in the capital, causing transport chaos and leaving one person dead.

"The intensity of the storm was unexpected," said Alemmano, who has activated a toll-free emergency hot-line for people to report emergencies and request information (800 854 854).

Torrential rain and thunderstorms flooded basements across the city, drowning an elderly man in his underground apartment. In another incident, a senior citizen was reported missing.

Traffic was snarled as streams of water flowed down streets and blocked passageways.

Various stops at the underground metro service were closed. Rail lines to the capital also experienced delays and closures.

Pieces of the cieling in a highschool classroom collapsed and fell onto one student who was not reported to have suffered serious injuries.

The AS Roma soccer team canceled their training session because their pitch was water-logged.

The same storm brought about 22 cenitmeters of snow to some areas of the Dolomite mountains in the northern Veneto region.