Several Belgians on holiday in northern Italy were surprised by a short but severe storm last night. Heavy hail caused a lot of damage on Lake Garda. “The parking lot turned into a dump,” Jürgen Vermander reports to HLN. According to Christoph Jansen, at least four people had to be treated for their injuries. Strong thunderstorms are still possible in the region today, according to the Italian Meteorological Service, but the situation should improve during the day.
“Hailballs the size of tennis balls. The car is completely damaged, there are even holes in the body,” reports Jürgen Vermander, who stayed at the Bella Italia campsite on the southern shore of Lake Garda. “The parking lot has become a dump.”
Dzengiz Tafa, who lives ten kilometers away, agrees. “Right now (Monday Late Night, Ed.) I checked the car parked in Sirmione on Lake Garda. It’s a total loss… The windshield is cracked and has a golf ball design. And, according to Tafa, it is not only about a few damaged cars: “There are about a hundred cars here. They’re all a total loss.”
According to Christoph Jansen and Dorien Demunter, people were even injured in Sirmione. “Two children and two adults were injured. Emergency services had to take care of them. The woman next to us got big bruises from the live bullets, from which she wanted to run,” they say.
Their car was also badly damaged and was “reduced to scrap metal” after hail the size of tennis balls fell from the sky for several minutes. “They were almost fist-thick. The roof and hood are very badly damaged, as well as the right side of the car, where the body has large dents. Some of the car’s windows and lights are also completely broken, including the front one.”
Jansen fears that his family will now have to be repatriated. “Therefore, our vacation will be significantly reduced. We also won’t be able to pick up many materials such as food and drinks. Our 5- and 7-year-old children have not yet heard bad news.”
Latifah Salhi stays by and tells a similar story. She was also lucky that she rented an apartment in the campsite where she stayed. “At first there was just thunder and lightning and the worst seemed to have passed us by, but nothing could be further from the truth. Power went out and tents, vans and cars were destroyed by hail the size of a tennis ball.”
We took care of a single mother with three children in our apartment
Latif Salhi
“We went to get blankets for the car windows and took care of a single mother with three children in our apartment,” she continues. “One man was taken to hospital after being hit in the head by hail. Our tour operator Vacansoleil is busy looking for solutions.”
Nick Andries, another Fleming who lives near Lake Garda, heard from Italians on the ground that such storms were also “unheard of” for them. “We’re on vacation and then fate happens,” he writes with images of his car badly damaged by hail.
