The north of Italy has been hit by severe storms. A tornado was sighted on Lake Garda on Thursday morning. Injuries or damage to ships on the popular tourist lake were not initially reported, as the Coast Guard said when asked.

Amateur videos showed the hurricane building up over the lake and then dissipating after a few minutes. People also observed a tornado in front of the port city of Civitavecchia northwest of Rome.

After the Mediterranean country had experienced a heat wave and drought in spring and summer, precipitation and storms have recently increased - especially in the northern regions.

Heavy rain and hailstorms also fell on Lake Como in the Lombardy region on Thursday night. According to the fire brigade, they had to go out on 50 missions. Massive amounts of water, debris and mud flowed through the village of Blevio, penetrating into residential buildings and cellars.

Tweet fire brigade video on homepage of "Corriere della Sera"