File:Heavy Sediment in the Adriatic Sea (MODIS).jpg

English: Storm Ciarán struck parts of Europe in late 2023, bringing extremely strong winds and heavy rain across a wide area. Peak winds of about 160 mph (260 km/h) were reported in the Channel Islands, an archipelago located in the English Channel off the Normandy coast of France. More than 1 million homes in France were left without electricity, according to media reports.

Italy was hit particularly hard. According to the Global Disaster Alert and Coordination System (GDACS), the heavy rainfall and strong winds affected northern Italy, especially Tuscany, Veneto, Liguria, and Emilia-Romagna regions, starting November 1. The storm caused widespread damage, including floods, overflowing rivers, landslides, and wind-related destruction, especially in Tuscany. On November 3, Floodlist reported that officials in Tuscany had declared a state of emergency after the region received torrential rain of about 200 mm (7.9 inches) in only 4 hours. At that time, several people were missing. As of November 6, GDACS reported that 1,200 people remained evacuated from their homes, seven people were confirmed as killed, and one person remained missing.

The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite acquired a true-color image of the northern Adriatic Sea on November 6. Italy is located on the north and west of the Adriatic Sea.

Sediment swirls along the shoreline due to the recent action of severe wind on coastal erosion as well creating waves that stirred up mud from the shallow areas of the Sea. Tan-colored sediment also spills into the Adriatic from the many rivers overburdened by mud from the recent floods and rain. The largest swirls are seen near the delta of the Po River, while the Po itself is filled with mud-colored water. Another eddy of brown just north of the Po delta comes from the Adige and Brenta Rivers. Further north, the sediment-laden Piave River can be seen flowing eastward toward the Adriatic Sea.