Heavy rains and strong winds have devastated many regions in Italy. As of today the death toll has risen to 29 due to extreme weather throughout the week. Of the 29, 12 people have been confirmed dead in Sicily, Italy.

Nine of those individuals were from two families. Giuseppe Giordano, a survivor and family member of the deceased, lost his wife and children in the flood. Once the flooding reached his head, Giordano was able to grab ahold of a tree, and yell for help for over two hours.

Drones have shown aerial views of the excessive damage. Sweeping winds have flattened over 300,000 trees in the Asiago Plateau. Fallen trees have caused several deaths over the last week. The flooding has also caused multiple landslides in the town of Vilminore di Scalve. Venice, that was underwater last week, has been working to install flood barriers to protect from disastrous flooding. This project, known as the Moses project, has been underway for years, but has yet to be completed due to corruption and rising costs.

Buildings built illegally have also succumb to the devastation. Many people had built their homes without the proper permits. Their homes did not receive the permits due to the fact that they were built too close to rivers or other bodies of water. Prime minister Conte said that has be called a state of emergency for the 11 regions. Luca Zaia, the governor of Venetp has estimated that the flooding and wind has caused an estimated 1 billion Euros in damages.