Two tankers are battered by gale winds while at the roadstead in the rough waters of the Gulf of Cagliari, Sardinia, Monday, Nov. 18, 2013. A violent rainstorm that flooded entire parts of the Mediterranean island of Sardinia has led to the deaths of at least nine people. Bridges were felled by swollen rivers and water levels reached 3 metres (yards) in some places. (AP Photo/Max Solinas)
A massive rainstorm by Cyclone Cleopatra caused bad flash floods in Sardinia, Italy on Tuesday.
Bridges collapsed and cars were swept away by the gushing flood water.
Sardinia is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean and is one of Italy’s autonomous regions.
At least eighteen people were killed by the disaster while some others are still missing.
Italy’s civil protection chief, Franco Gabrielli, said the death toll may rise as crews reach isolated areas in the countryside where homes are submerged.
The northeastern city of Olbia was worst hit and Olbia Mayor, Gianni Giovannelli said that the water level raised up to 3 meters high (10 feet) in some part of the city.
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- Rescue workers pulling a boat along, wade on a flooded street at San Gavino Monreale in Sardina island November 18, 2013. Italian authorities declared a state of emergency in Sardinia on Tuesday, a day after a cyclone struck the Mediterranean island, killing at least 16 people and leaving hundreds homeless. Overnight, Cyclone Cleopatra dropped 450 millimetres of rain in an hour and a half, causing rivers to burst their banks, sweeping away cars and flooding homes across the island. Picture taken November 18. REUTERS/Rosaspress
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- A rescue worker wades down a flooded street in San Gavino Monreale on Sardina island November 18, 2013. Italian authorities declared a state of emergency in Sardinia on Tuesday, a day after a cyclone struck the Mediterranean island, killing at least 16 people and leaving hundreds homeless. Overnight, Cyclone Cleopatra dropped 450 millimetres of rain in an hour and a half, causing rivers to burst their banks, sweeping away cars and flooding homes across the island. Picture taken November 18, 2013. REUTERS/Rosaspress
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- Submerged cars are seen on a flooded street in San Gavino Monreale on Sardina island November 18, 2013. Italian authorities declared a state of emergency in Sardinia on Tuesday, a day after a cyclone struck the Mediterranean island, killing at least 16 people and leaving hundreds homeless. Overnight, Cyclone Cleopatra dropped 450 millimetres of rain in an hour and a half, causing rivers to burst their banks, sweeping away cars and flooding homes across the island. Picture taken November 18, 2013. REUTERS/Rosaspress
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- A flooded street is pictured in San Gavino Monreale on Sardina island November 18, 2013. Italian authorities declared a state of emergency in Sardinia on Tuesday, a day after a cyclone struck the Mediterranean island, killing at least 16 people and leaving hundreds homeless. Overnight, Cyclone Cleopatra dropped 450 millimetres of rain in an hour and a half, causing rivers to burst their banks, sweeping away cars and flooding homes across the island. Picture taken November 18, 2013. REUTERS/Rosaspress
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- Rescue workers pulling a boat along, wade on a flooded street at San Gavino Monreale in Sardinia island November 18, 2013. Italian authorities declared a state of emergency in Sardinia on Tuesday, a day after a cyclone struck the Mediterranean island, killing at least 16 people and leaving hundreds homeless. Overnight, Cyclone Cleopatra dropped 450 millimetres of rain in an hour and a half, causing rivers to burst their banks, sweeping away cars and flooding homes across the island. Picture taken November 18. REUTERS/Rosaspress
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- Rescuers work in a flooded street in the small town of Uras, Sardinia, Monday, Nov. 18, 2013. A violent rainstorm that flooded entire parts of the Mediterranean island of Sardinia has led to the deaths of at least nine people. Bridges were felled by swollen rivers and water levels reached 3 metres (yards) in some places. (AP Photo/Alessandra Chergia)
