A violent storm with a vast tornado struck in the very early afternoon between Catania and Syracuse. Especially affected the part at sea and the villages of the Etna belt. Gusts of strong wind felled trees and ripped up advertising panels. The wind was followed by rain and hail, causing damage to homes and businesses.
The Municipality makes it known that there are also some injured and it is “recommended that citizens pay the utmost attention and not leave the house except for urgent reasons”. The ring road went haywire due to the presence of trees on the pavement. 118, firefighters and municipal and regional civil protection were alerted for rescue interventions. There were several calls to the fire brigade for flooding of cellars and garages.
Bad weather, flooded roads and diverted flights. Civil protection: “Orange alert is on”
Giada Lo Porto and Marta Occhipinti
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None of the injured rescued, cited from the Fb page of the Municipality, is currently hospitalized in the hospitals of the city, but there are some bruised people. These are four foreign athletes of the canoe polo: but their conditions are good and the intervention of 118 was not necessary.
The bad weather also had an impact on the airport where four incoming flights were diverted to other airports, two of which in Palermo and one in Bari. There were numerous calls for intervention to the operations room of the single number 112 for flooding and damage to buildings, torn roofs and streets blocked by fallen trees and stranded drivers.
The violent storm also hit several towns in the Catania area, and in particular Etna. In Nicolosi a tree, in Piazza Vittorio Emanuele, fell damaging a means of transport for the disabled belonging to the Misericordia association.
A violent storm and a whirlwind also hit Syracuse. The strong wind swept away trees and signs in the capital and in other towns of the province, such as Francofonte. In Syracuse the areas most affected by the whirlwind were the seaside areas, in particular contrada Arenella, on the southern outskirts of the city. The mayors have called on the population to limit travel.
In the Ragusa area, several greenhouses uncovered between Vittoria and Acate. Light poles knocked down on the Scoglitti seafront. In Vittoria the crumbling wall of a ruined building was knocked down to avoid further consequences.
Three French tourists, blocked by bad weather, were rescued this afternoon by a technician from the Sicilian Alpine and Speleological Rescue near Piano Provenzana. The Sass technician noticed the presence of a car parked in the square and, after having alerted the station to which he belongs, he reached the tourists in the area of the ski lifts. The three, who had ventured into the excursion without adequate clothing, were caught by a violent storm.
Cold and frightened, they were fortunately in good health.
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