Giuseppa Maria Spampinato, a Catania-based government official, told CNN on Tuesday the situation was “very serious.” From a view from her office window, Spampinato said the city’s main street – Via Etnea – appeared to be completely submerged. Is.
On Monday, Italy’s civil defense department issued a red alert for flooding in north-east Sicily and the south-west region of Calabria – its highest level of warning. On Tuesday, a red alert was issued in view of the possibility of heavy rain for the second day.
“A depression area persists over the central Mediterranean region and is causing bad weather conditions over the southern regions of the country,” the Italian government said on Monday.
Heavy rain and strong winds have affected southern Italy since Sunday, with the region recording half a meter (about 20 inches) of rain.
The highest rainfall totals from Sunday to Tuesday morning are in Linguaglossa, Sicily with 520.4 millimeters (20 in) and Fabrizia, Calabria with 440.2 millimeters (17 in). Catania reported 167 millimeters (7 in) in 24 hours, more than double the average October rainfall of 62.7 millimeters (2 in).
This region of storms will move to the south of southern Italy, bring continuous rain and high winds over the region, and then move into Sicily on Thursday, raising the possibility of heavy rain and strong winds once again.
Weather models are forecasting 100 to 150 millimeters It will rain from Wednesday to Friday, with more rain in the local areas.
Catania Mayor Salvo Pogliez has ordered schools and public gardens to remain closed on Tuesday because of the situation, according to Catania’s municipality website. Residents are also prohibited from stopping in areas that are subject to landslides and along the coastal road, due to expected storms of “special intensity”.
On Tuesday, Italy’s fire and rescue service, Vigli del Fuoco, said on Twitter that there had been 250 call outs due to bad weather in Catania. The search for a missing woman is ongoing in the commune of Scordia in Catania, after one man was found dead on Monday, the service said.
The head of the civil protection agency in Sicily, Salvo Cocina, told Reuters on camera on Monday: “Today, we continued the search for the missing. We have recovered the body of the man, not yet the woman. It’s about a kilometer away from where the car was left. Yesterday it rained 250 millimeters (9.8 inches), really heavy. The roads were flooded and they could have left the car in a panic, they may have They could have stayed there. And they got swept away in the fury of water.
In the region of Calabria, there were 140 callouts in Reggio Calabria, 52 in Cosenza, 49 in Vibo Valentia. More than 300 firefighters are involved in flood-related work.
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