The historic center of Catania turned into a log flume on Tuesday afternoon, carrying planters, patio furniture and even cars. The situation was so dangerous that the mayor decided to close all unnecessary stores. He called on citizens to stay at home.
A 53-year-old man drowned after being dragged into the water and trapped under a stationary car. The other victim fell through a mudslide in a village inland; his wife is still being sought. The fire brigade had to turn out 620 times, mainly to help motorists who had become trapped in their vehicles. A hospital that flooded had to be evacuated, in court it rained in. Catania airport was partially closed, travelers faced major delays.
Exceptional
It is not the first time this year that Catania has been flooded, but it was the worst flooding to date. 265 millimeters of rain fell on Monday and Tuesday, almost a third of what normally falls in an entire year. The cause is a so-called ‘medicane’: a Mediterranean hurricane, which is less violent than a tropical storm and also arises in a different way, but can cause a lot of damage.
Medicanes are a relatively new phenomenon, explains climatologist Antonio Navarra, director of the Euro-Mediterranean Center on Climate Change in Lecce. “They are very intense. We are still studying them and working on new models to understand how they will develop due to climate change.’
It is not the first time this year that Sicily has to deal with extreme weather. In August, the European temperature record was broken on the island during a heat wave in which it became more than 48 degrees. Sicily is the region in Italy that is feeling the effects of climate change most clearly so far.
Clogged water drain
The effects of the severe weather in Catania are exacerbated by poor water drainage. The wells and pipes of the city, which lies next to Etna, are almost permanently clogged by volcanic ash. This year it falls even more often than usual. Local media criticized the city and regional government on Tuesday. According to critics, drivers too easily blame the cause of the floods on climate change, while the flooding would be much less serious with a properly functioning drainage system.
But there is not much time now to answer the question of guilt. There isn’t even time to lick wounds and take stock of the damage, as Catania has to brace itself for the next storm. That is expected to reach Sicily on Thursday or Friday. The head of national civil defense warned about this on Wednesday. The Sicilian regional government is considering declaring a state of emergency. Schools and non-essential shops will remain closed until at least Friday.
The leaders of the G20 will meet in Rome this weekend, among other things to discuss the climate. The regional governor of Sicily called on them to make ‘brave decisions’. According to the governor, the EU should also intervene with ‘unusual measures’. He called on the participants of the international climate summit in Glasgow, which starts next week, to action. ‘Otherwise we will have to assess damage more and more often in the future and, God forbid, count casualties.’
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