Summer storms

Mechanical diggers clear a road after mudslides hit the village of Scaletta Zanglea near the Sicilian city of Messina October 4, 2009. Italy's Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi pledged on Sunday 1 billion euros ($1.45 billion) for areas threatened by landslides, after heavy rains and mud killed at least 22 people in Sicily. Berlusconi flew over the region around Messina where houses were flattened and roads washed away by a torrent of rain and mud last week. The death toll is likely to rise as 40 people are missing, while more than 500 people have been left homeless.