Storms in Europe leave eight dead, roads flooded

PARIS -- Fierce thunderstorms swept across Europe on Friday, killing eight people and leaving a trail of flooded roads, collapsed houses and downed bridges from France to Poland.

Regional officials in northeastern Italy declared a state of emergency, while the Austrian military was deployed to deal with the flooding aftermath.

In Germany, at least three people died in storm-battered Bavaria. An 81-year-old woman died when flood waters poured into her Dierdorf cellar, while two men drowned in a parking garage.

In southeastern France, floods and mudslides collapsed two houses and carried cars away.

About 100 residents of Saint-Geoire-en-Valdaine in the mountainous Isere region were forced to spend Thursday night in a gymnasium. A woman in her 80s was found dead in the rubble of a home partly destroyed by storms, police said.

Four hikers on the Mediterranean island of Corsica were surprised by the storms and spent the night outdoors. After being delayed by the bad weather, rescuers Friday morning found the hikers suffering from hypothermia.

One hiker died, rescue officials said.

In Poland, a teen-age girl and boy were killed by lightning in southern Sosnowiec. A 5-year-old girl died after being hit by a falling tree branch in western Pila.

Flooding also hit Venice, Italy, where sirens sounded to announce "acqua alta" -- high waters -- which often afflict the lagoon city and its magnificent canal-side palazzos.

On Thursday, Venice waters surged to nearly four feet, setting a record high for June and making footbridges impossible to use.

A state of emergency was declared in parts of Fruili, in northeastern Italy, while rains washed out a bridge over the Cervo river in nearby Biella.

Austrian firefighters and other emergency workers were placed on high alert across the province of Lower Austria as swollen rivers broke their banks. High waters flooded several regional highways, forcing their temporary closures.

Austrian army troops were mobilized and more than 1,700 fire brigade boats fought the flood damage. At least one man was reported missing.