(CNN) A storm that brought heavy rain and violent winds to Northern Italy overnight and early Tuesday sent rapid floods through central Milan and caused Lake Como to breach its banks.
Several waterside bars were flooded at the lake — a popular tourist attraction — while civil protection authorities were forced to pump out water from areas nearby and erect mobile barriers.
The Seveso, a river that runs through the municipalities of Como, Monza e Brianza and Milan, also broke its banks, according to Italy’s civil protection agency.
Parts of Milan became inaccessible, while social media posts showed water gushing down stairs into underground train stations and pedestrians falling down or clinging to poles during strong gusts of wind.