Storm floods Lipari, landslide in Naples, tornado in Sicily: orange alert confirmed

The newspaper already reported, in the October 9 edition, on the orange alert over Naples and Lazio with schools closed and flooding (the article here). In recent hours the wave of bad weather has hit new areas of Southern Italy, with more serious consequences.

A severe storm caused the flooding of dozens of homes in Lipari, with the overflowing of the Ponte and Valle streams. According to ANSA, at 1:40 PM today the families who had remained trapped in their homes overnight were freed. On the island, efforts to restore road access are ongoing, while at the port of Sottomonastero debris and mud in the sea are making operations difficult for the ferry service. The local outlet Notiziario Isole Eolie reports streets flooded with water in several parts of the town center and cars dragged or stuck by the current; Liberty Lines hydrofoil services were nonetheless reported to be running.

In Naples a landslide on Via Fedro, in the Mergellina area, made it necessary to evacuate three apartments. The episode is part of the same wave of bad weather that has hit Southern Italy, with the orange weather alert confirmed in Campania, Calabria, Puglia and Sicily. In the Campania capital, firefighters carried out 150 interventions for flooding and ground instability.

A tornado also struck Sicily as part of the same weather system, overturning cars and damaging buildings. The Minister for Civil Protection, Nello Musumeci, said he was in contact with local authorities on the island to monitor the evolving situation.

The combination of flooding, landslides and tornadoes thus confirms, compared to yesterday, a worsening of the situation in several parts of Southern Italy, with the orange alert still active in four regions.