⁍ Storm dubbed Alex ravaged several villages around the city of Nice on the French Riviera.

---

⁍ In Italy, at least two people died — one a fireman hit by a falling tree and another a man in his 30s whose car was swept into a river.

---

⁍ In Venice, a long-delayed flood barrier system successfully protected the lagoon city from a high tide.

---

– The mayor of the French city of Nice calls it “the worst flooding disaster in the area for more than a century.” At least nine people are missing, including two firefighters who were swept away when their vehicle was carried away by a swollen river, Reuters reports. In Italy, at least two people were killed by falling trees and authorities say one man is still missing, including a man in his 30s whose car was swept into a river after a road subsided. Officials in the Piedmont region reported a record 24.8 inches of rain in just 24 hours in Sambughetto, close to the border with Switzerland. The water level in the River Po jumped by 3 meters (9.84 feet) in just 24 hours. Eric Ciotti, a member of the French parliament who is from one of the worst affected villages in the area, Saint-Martin-Vésubie, says several villages were cut off as they are located in steep-sided valleys of the mountainous region. Nice Mayor Christian Estrosi called it the worst flooding disaster in the area for more than a century after flying over the worst-hit area by helicopter. “The roads and about 100 houses were swept away or partially destroyed,” he told French news channel BFM. “I have been particularly shocked by what I saw today.”