Overview
- A brief but violent tornado with hail struck Cremona in about ten minutes on Friday, tearing roofs, collapsing a cathedral spire covering and blowing out part of the civic tower roof.
- Emergency crews treated 43 people for storm injuries, hospital officials said that most were discharged and four patients were hospitalized with femur fractures.
- At least ten churches and other historic structures were damaged, including the Duomo and the Torre Civica, and one municipal building has been declared uninhabitable with families evacuated.
- The storm caused wide material losses with thousands of trees downed, an estimated 10,000 cars damaged by hail, and three of four pavilions at the Fiera di Cremona hit, forcing business and agricultural assessments.
- Firefighters and civil-protection volunteers have carried out hundreds of interventions, regional authorities have asked the national government to extend a state-of-emergency, and officials warn of higher seasonal storm risk this autumn.