A violent storm causes destruction in the south of Italy. The floods and strong winds have already resulted in at least one death.
Catania – In the south of Italy there have been violent storms and floods in the past few days. The massive rains in Sicily and Calabria * caused destruction, with a first fatality confirmed, as reported by merkur.de. Due to the critical situation, schools were also closed and dozens of flights canceled.
The frightening images from southern Italy show flooded streets and village squares and are reminiscent of the flood disaster in North Rhine-Westphalia. Cars are submerged or washed away. Winds with speeds of 100 kilometers per hour and heavy rainfall create chaos. Within a few hours, as much rain fell in southern Italy as in the past six months. Hundreds of firefighters were deployed on Monday (October 25th, 2021). On the same day, civil protection declared a “red alert” in Sicily.
Fatalities after “Mediterranean hurricanes” in southern Italy
The city of Scordia saw the first casualty from the storm in what some call a “Mediterranean hurricane”. The 67-year-old man was in a rural area and went missing along with his 65-year-old wife, periodicoitaliano.it reported. There was still no information about their whereabouts.
On Tuesday (October 26th, 2021) the excessive rainfall and strong winds did not decrease. Catania was hit by a violent storm that flooded the old town. Power failures and further destruction are the result. The extreme weather should not decrease in the next few days either.
Italy: Extreme storms in Sicily and Calabria
The reason for the extreme weather is a low pressure area that does not move from the site. Therefore, the situation in the south of Italy will remain critical in the coming days, as the portal gazzettadelsud.it reported. While the weather in Sicily should calm down a bit, there will continue to be heavy rain and wind, especially in Calabria.
Italy only had to struggle with floods in August: landslides and mudslides occurred in the north of the country. (vbu) * merkur.de is an offer from IPPEN.MEDIA.
Header list image: © Miguel Medina / afp
