Two people died Thursday and 100 others were evacuated as bad weather toppled trees and tore off roofs in Tuscany, the Italian region said.

The civil protection agency prepared emergency accommodation in schools and gyms for those forced from their homes after violent winds and rains pummelled the area from the coast to tourist hotspot Florence, killing a man in Lucca and a woman in Carrara, the region said.

Both were hit by falling trees, local media reports said.

Four people were injured by toppling trees at the seaside camping site of Marina di Massa, while four others were rushed to hospital in the mediaeval town of Barga after the car they were travelling in was hit by a torn-off roof, according to local news site Toscana in Diretta.

Experts say climate change driven by human activity is boosting the intensity and frequency of extreme weather events, such as heatwaves, droughts and wildfires.