7 killed after flooding ravages northern Italy

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A man walks on mud and debris between broken cars in a street of Monterosso after overnight floods on October 26.NEW: The death toll rises to seven and a state of emergency is declared348 Italian military personnel are dispatched to help in flood-ravaged areasCinque Terre town is "isolated, accessible only by sea," its mayor saysThe storms have caused transportation problems across Liguria

Rome (CNN) -- Seven people have died and seven others are missing after rains triggered severe flooding in northern Italy, civil protection officials said Friday.

Especially hard hit was the tourist-popular Cinque Terre region on Italy's northwest coast.

The Italian Council of Ministers declared a state of emergency in the flood region, which means 65 million euros ($91 million) will be put aside to deal with the disaster, the Corriere della Sera newspaper reported.

A special cabinet meeting was called Friday to discuss the situation, the Italian government said.

Heavy rains continued to fall Thursday night in Milan and other spots across the southern European nation, according to the Servizio Meteorologico, Italy's official weather agency. The agency gave an alert about intense, widespread rainfall -- potentially with strong wind gusts and hail -- in the regions of Calabria and Basilicata in southern Italy, as well as the eastern part of Sicily.

Meanwhile, Monterosso al Mare -- between Genoa and Pisa in the Cinque Terre region of Liguria -- has been "isolated, accessible only by sea" because of earlier rains and floods, Mayor Angelo Betta told the news agency ANSA.

So, too, is the nearby town of Vernazza, with even bulldozers and cranes still not able to reach it.

That said, Betta reported some progress Thursday thanks to round-the-clock efforts by emergency workers and volunteers to clean up the town. One volunteer in that community died in the flood Wednesday.

"The situation is much better compared to yesterday," Betta said.

Italy's Defense Ministry noted Thursday on its website that 348 military personnel have deployed to the provinces of Massa Carrara and La Spezia to assist in the wake of flooding here.

Three people were killed after a house collapsed in La Spezia, an ANSA report said.

ANSA also reported that prosecutors have opened a manslaughter investigation related to the deaths of two people from flood-related injuries in Aulla. Authorities are assessing whether their deaths had anything to do with faulty work that may have caused the Magra River to overflow.

The weather has also caused major travel headaches throughout the region. A mudslide that trapped a truck driver, who was eventually freed, has caused the A12 highway in Liguria to be blocked since Tuesday. Train services in Liguria have been halted, too, due to mud and debris on the tracks.

CNN's Hada Messia and Marilia Brochetto contributed to this report.

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Northern lights seen more South than usual

Northern Lights seen through U.S.are the northern lights as far south as Atlanta and Memphis, TennesseeThe screen normally occurs once every three or four yearsThe light show takes place when a solar flare interacts with the Earth's magnetic fieldEditor's Note: are there? Send us your photos

Atlanta ((CNN)) - came from the lights of the North to the deep South on the night of Monday, making them visible hundreds of kilometers further south than what would normally be.

Scientists call a coronal mass ejection. For the rest of us, the bright shades of green, orange and Red dancing in the night sky simply could draw beautiful or disturbing.

The level of the North of the United States - places like Seattle, Minneapolis and Boston - normally is the southern limit of solar eruptions, said meteorologist Jim Branda in the Office of the national service of Meteorology in Memphis, Tennessee. But on Monday night, the screen - also known as aurora borealis - could see as far south as Oklahoma City, Memphis and Atlanta.

The spectacle of light was caused by a solar explosion.

"A storm on the surface of the Sun was diverted, and the solar wind dispersed" Branda said, explaining that created the spectacle of natural light. "Energy and magnetism of interacting with the atmosphere and magnetic field".

The Twitter universe illuminated with comments.

Some said that the presentation was "impressive", while others call "wonderful".

Enjoy it while you can, Branda said.

The light of the South show usually only happens once every three or four years. If the sky is cloudy, you can see only once every 10 years in the southern States, according to Branda

Maggie Schneider CNN contributed to this report

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