A devastating Cyclone "Cleopatra" struck Mediterranean island of Sardinia, Italy, on November 18, 2013, flooding towns and villages, killing at least 17 people and leaving hundreds homeless. This is one of the strongest storms that hit Sardinia in decades. It dropped a record breaking 450 millimeters of rain in an hour and a half in some areas and caused rivers to burst their banks.
Bau Mandara station had decades long rainfall record broken when they measured 370 mm of rain per square meter. There are only 12 recorded cases of 200 mm and more at that station in one day.
A river burst its flank in Uras (Province of Oristano) where amount of rain exceeded all local historic records.
A car was swallowed by a sinkhole that opened in the middle of a street, electricity was cut off throughout the island, trains were stranded, ferries and air flights were delayed.
Winds of up to 120 km/h were recorded.
The State of emergency was declared on Tuesday, November 19, 2013, a day after the storm while search and rescue teams were still on the ground. Chaotic conditions are still present at the island.
The mayor of Olbia, the northeastern Sardinian town among the worst affected areas, said the sudden flooding had burst "like a bomb". Some areas there recorded 3 meters high flood waters.
