Read news from:
Austria
SHARE
COPY LINK

CLIMATE

One killed by tornado as storms hit Sicily

A tornado has killed a 53-year-old man on the island of Sicily as well as injuring others and damaging buildings and farmland.

Published: 17 November 2021 15:52 CET
Rescue services attend to damage in Sicily caused by the whirlwind.
Rescue services attend to damage in Sicily caused by the whirlwind. Photo: Vigili del Fuoco/Twitter

Further devastation was reported in Sicily on Wednesday after several waves of bad weather struck the island in recent weeks.

A whirlwind hit the districts of Trebalate, Serrameta, Sant’ Elena and Bosco in the south-east of the island, killing one man in the province of Ragusa, Italian media reports.

The 53-year-old victim was reportedly hit head-on by a door that had been ripped off by the wind.

The latest storm has increased the death count following repeated extreme weather events in Sicily and Calabria a few weeks ago which killed three people and submerged city streets and squares.

According to reports, the man had left his house to secure a railing that had been damaged by the strong wind without realising the danger he was in.

Police are at the scene, as the rain and strong winds that continue to affect the Ragusa area blew out telephone connections. Downed trees, collapsed walls and damage to businesses and infrastructure have also been reported.

National rescue services have been working to deal with the whirlwind’s devastation in Ragusa since the morning hours.

A married couple in their sixties has also been injured.

“An extremely violent wave of bad weather has been affecting our territory for several hours now,” said the mayor of Modica Ignizo Abbate.

“There has been a great deal of damage to homes, farms and infrastructure… I urge everyone not to leave their homes unless absolutely necessary,” he added.

READ ALSO: Climate crisis: The Italian cities worst affected by flooding and heatwaves

The Department of Civil Protection has announced that there is intense rain in the province of Ragusa and there is continuous rainfall in the area, placing the southern part of Sicily and the eastern side of Sardinia under an orange alert (heavy rainfall, landslide and flood risk).

Eight other regions have been placed under a yellow weather warning (localised heavy and potentially dangerous rainfall).

The Department is responsible for predicting, preventing and managing emergency events across the country, and uses a green, yellow, orange and red graded colour coding system for weather safety reports.

Green signifies calm and stable conditions, while a red weather warning is issued only in the event of widespread, very intense and persistent conditions that pose a threat to public safety.

The continuing bad weather comes after severe storms battered southern Italy earlier this month, after a cyclone brought thunderstorms and cold weather.

Member comments

Log in here to leave a comment.
Become a Member to leave a comment.

WEATHER

Denmark records deepest snow level for 13 years

Blizzards in Denmark this week have resulted in the greatest depth of snow measured in the country for 13 years.

Published: 4 January 2024 14:18 CET
Denmark records deepest snow level for 13 years

A half-metre of snow, measured at Hald near East Jutland town Randers, is the deepest to have occurred in Denmark since January 2011, national meteorological agency DMI said.

The measurement was taken by the weather agency at 8am on Thursday.

Around 20-30 centimetres of snow was on the ground across most of northern and eastern Jutland by Thursday, as blizzards peaked resulting in significant disruptions to traffic and transport.

A much greater volume of snow fell in 2011, however, when over 100 centimetres fell on Baltic Sea island Bornholm during a post-Christmas blizzard, which saw as much as 135 centimetres on Bornholm at the end of December 2010.

READ ALSO: Denmark’s January storms could be fourth extreme weather event in three months

With snowfall at its heaviest for over a decade, Wednesday saw a new rainfall record. The 59 millimetres which fell at Svendborg on the island of Funen was the most for a January day in Denmark since 1886. Some 9 weather stations across Funen and Bornholm measured over 50cm of rain.

DMI said that the severe weather now looks to have peaked.

“We do not expect any more weather records to be set in the next 24 hours. But we are looking at some very cold upcoming days,” DMI meteorologist and press spokesperson Herdis Damberg told news wire Ritzau.

SHOW COMMENTS