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Update
In Sicily, the equivalent of a year of precipitation fell in 48 hours. The Italian island, which is very busy at this time of year, has been hit by deadly floods. At least two people have lost their lives, another is missing. Cities have been submerged.
Tuesday October 26, Catania, the second city of Sicily (Italy), was swallowed up before the eyes of the helpless inhabitants. Water has seeped into the shops of the historic center, which has been devastated by violent torrents, which threaten to sweep away buses and cars. In 48 hours, the equivalent of a year of precipitation fell. These bad weather are exceptional for this city of more than 300,000 inhabitants. “Since Monday, our city has been experiencing a dramatic situation linked to the weather conditions that hit the entire eastern part of Sicily, of unprecedented violence and intensity.“, said the mayor of Catania, Salvo Pogliese.
Catania is located at the foot of Mount Etna. The rain flowed along the volcano to pour into the city. The provisional toll is already heavy: two dead have been discovered in the Catalan suburbs. “We just found the body of a man in the water, near a car, and we are still looking for his wife“, said Stefano Russo, of the Catania gendarmerie. In the city center, the staff of a hospital, flooded with water and mud, had to be evacuated. Meteorologists now fear that a cyclone will hit the coast The storm is expected to peak between Thursday October 28th and Friday October 29th.