Waterspout destroys school as extreme weather hits Italy

Waterspout destroys school as extreme weather hits Italy

(ANSA) - ROME, 09 OTT - A double waterspout destroyed a school at Marsala in Italy as a wave of extreme weather swept across the Bel Paese on Friday. The waterspout in the Trapani area caused widespread damage and injuries. The double waterspout struck the area around the port of Marsala and swept across parts of the Trapani region, causing damage to buildings, vehicles, and crops. In Marsala, a school was hit, and several people were injured. In Petrosino, a car was struck and flung into a ravine; two people were injured and taken to the hospital. The vortices formed at sea and moved inland. An orange weather alert is in effect today for Lazio and Campania due to potential torrential rain. Roads in the Cremona area are flooded following a violent thunderstorm. The Marsala school principal said the building had been destroyed by the waterspout. Staff and children are all safe, he added, since the emergency response was prompt. "A waterspout struck the Terrenove branch directly and completely destroyed it. Fortunately, thanks to the actions taken by the staff and myself, we sought a safer area inside the building because it was impossible to go outside. "Thankfully, there were no injuries to staff or, above all, to the children—just a few scrapes. Emergency services arrived promptly, despite road disruptions and cars being blown through the air. All in all, things turned out well. The Lord helped us," said principal Leonardo Gullotta regarding the Terrenove district campus of the Alcide De Gasperi school in Marsala. There were 273 children in the school when the waterspout passed through. "We are all following with great concern the unfolding events in western Sicily, an area hard-hit by severe weather. My thoughts go first and foremost to those injured by the tornado," stated Gaetano Galvagno, President of the Sicilian Regional Assembly (ARS). "Clearly," he added, "all relevant institutional bodies—the Sicilian Regional Assembly, the government, and local authorities—must play their respective parts. While reaffirming the solidarity of the entire Sicilian community with the affected populations, it is also right to thank those who immediately stepped in to provide aid and assistance to the people of the Marsala area." Following yesterday's heavy rains, another wave of severe weather struck Naples and its province today. A tree collapsed on Via Guantai Nuovi in the city center, right in front of the INPS headquarters; the area has been cordoned off with red tape. Flooding has occurred in various Naples neighborhoods, particularly in Fuorigrotta and Bagnoli. Issues have also been reported in the province: a supermarket wall collapsed overnight in Pozzuoli, while a power outage affected several neighborhoods in Marano. On Ischia, firefighters have carried out thirteen interventions to deal with flooding and landslides; roads are covered in mud and debris, and a telecommunications blackout cut off the entire island for over two hours. The severe weather that has been affecting Ischia for more than two days continues to cause significant disruption. Last night, firefighters from the island's station responded to over a dozen incidents caused by heavy rainfall—143 millimeters in 30 hours—which triggered flooding and minor landslides across various parts of the island. In Panza, a hamlet within the municipality of Forio, a boundary wall near the cemetery collapsed, spilling stones and landslide debris onto the roadway. The situation was further complicated by a communications blackout that struck yesterday evening; around 7:45 PM, internet, mobile phone, and landline services all failed simultaneously. The outage affected all six of the island's municipalities, leaving thousands of people unable to make calls or access online services for over two hours—thereby preventing emergency calls to law enforcement, firefighters, and emergency medical services (118). The blackout occurred amidst a prolonged spell of bad weather and in an area already severely scarred by landslides and floods. Services were restored around 10:15 PM. Further north, a violent storm battered Castelleone, in the province of Cremona, last night dumping nearly 100 millimeters of rain in just a few hours, accompanied by hail and strong wind gusts. The storm resulted in flooded streets and basements—with water levels reaching up to thirty centimeters—as well as issues in the basement of the local nursing home, uprooted signs, and trees falling onto parked cars; firefighters remained mobilized until dawn. Scientists say the climate crisis caused by human greenhouse gas emissions is making extreme weather events such as heatwaves, droughts, supercharged storms and flooding more frequent and more intense. Although there are many sources of the greenhouse gases that are causing global heating, the main driver is the burning of fossil fuels such as oil, gas and coal, sales of which generate huge profits for the world's energy giants. (ANSA). Read article...