ROME: Winds gusting to 50 kilometres (32 miles) per hour toppled trees and walls in Italy Saturday, causing at least three deaths.
Gale force winds also swept across much of the Croatian Adriatic coast, damaging cars and shattering windows and disrupting traffic. Croatia's weather bureau said Saturday that gusts in the region of the Adriatic port of Split reached 191 kilometres per hour.
Italian news agency ANSA said winds toppled a wall on farmland near Frosinone, central Italy, killing two men in their 70s. State TV RaiNews24 said a driver died when a falling tree crushed his car in Guidonia, a Rome suburb.
Near Naples, a falling tree injured a woman and her teenage daughter.
Port authorities said a Turkish cargo ship ran aground due to strong winds near the Adriatic city of Bari, Rough seas thwarted a tugboat's efforts to free it.
Gusts forced cancellation of ferries to Capri, Ischia and the Aeolian archipelago, where a rare snowfall dusted the volcano Stromboli.
Several small wind-driven fires have erupted on the central Dalmatian coast. One firefighter was slightly injured while tackling the blaze.
Some streets in Split and surrounding towns have been closed because of flying glass and tiles.
In Bansko, Bulgaria, the men's World Cup super-G competition was cancelled due to bad weather.
