Italy is on high alert as severe weather sweeps across the country, with one person reported missing in Sicily. The crisis began when two cars were swept into the Crisa stream in Leonforte, near Enna, by torrential rains. While two occupants were rescued by firefighters after climbing onto the roofs of their vehicles, a third person, according to survivor accounts, is missing.
The vehicles were on a small road perpendicular to Provincial Road 39 and parallel to the Crisa stream in the Noce district. The watercourse, typically dry or less than a meter wide, had swelled dramatically, inundating cultivated land within its floodplain.
Leonforte’s Mayor, Piero Livolsi, described a “cloudburst” of rain, forcing a fire department helicopter to abort its search due to night flight restrictions. The search for the missing individual, 40-year-old Matteo Ciurca, whose cell phone was recovered Tuesday evening, continues through the night with amphibious unit divers. The municipal civil protection emergency system has been activated.
The national civil protection agency has issued an orange alert for parts of Liguria and Lombardy and a yellow alert for the remaining sectors of those regions, as well as for Piedmont, Emilia-Romagna, Veneto, Tuscany, and parts of Friuli-Venezia Giulia and Marche for Wednesday, August 20.
Meteorologist Lorenzo Tedici of iLMeteo.it forecasts a dramatic temperature drop of up to 10 degrees Celsius in the coming days, particularly in the North, shifting from peaks of 40°C to 25°C. He warns that the intense heat accumulated since early August will fuel severe thunderstorms, potentially including supercells capable of producing tornadoes and violent downbursts.
In response to the weather alert, the city of Milan has activated its civil protection operational center and ordered all parks closed on Wednesday. Bergamo has followed suit. In a separate Milan incident, a Slovenian-registered van was struck by a large falling branch near the Arena and Sempione Park; the driver and two passengers escaped uninjured.
A third violent storm in as many days hit Arezzo, causing widespread urban flooding and fallen trees, including on the Perugia-Bettolle highway. The Cagliari region is assessing extensive damage to farms after torrential rain and hail devastated crops, vineyards, and olive groves, including organic productions. Agriculture association Coldiretti reported “entire rows of vines irreversibly damaged.”
Further storms in Ciociaria triggered a landslide on Monte Viglio and uprooted trees. Incidents include a tree blocking the Sora-Frosinone highway near Castelliri and another obstructing a key tunnel access road in Frosinone, requiring firefighter intervention and traffic diversions. The two most significant landslides are on Monte Viglio and along the ‘Palianese Sud’ provincial road, where technicians from the Frosinone province are working.
Forecast Summary:**
Temperatures are set to plummet by up to 10 degrees starting Wednesday in the North, spreading to Central Italy by Thursday. Southern regions will maintain temperatures above 35°C until Saturday. The forecast predicts widespread, heavy rainfall accompanied by violent phenomena, with conditions stabilizing to a sunnier but showery weekend.