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Pantelleria Tornado

Updated: Oct 29, 2022

On the evening of September 30, 2022, a tornado swept through the Italian island of Pantelleria. In mere seconds, the tornado sped down a coastal road on the Sicilian island, overturning at least ten cars. The whirlwind also damaged electrical poles and uprooted trees. In total, the tornado seriously injured nine people, with four of them in critical condition. An additional two people were thrown out of their cars and killed on the spot.

The tornado arrived from the sea and struck suddenly, leaving Italian citizens no time to react. They were still driving down the road when the winds overturned their cars. One vehicle was thrown against a house, while another ended up in a field. At least one car ended up on its roof. Two people who were driving at the time were tossed out of their vehicles and died as a result. Both were residents of the island; one was an off-duty firefighter, and the other was an eighty-six-year-old man. No other people died as a result of the whirlwind, but some were injured and had to be transported to a hospital.

Thankfully, the island of Pantelleria is not densely populated, so the tornado didn’t damage too many buildings or residential areas. However, the houses that the tornado did reach had their roofs torn off and various objects, including cars, thrown against them. The whirlwind also tore off doors in addition to roofs. Along with houses, winds knocked over utility poles and trees, causing the power to go out. Due to the sheer amount of debris scattered around along with some flooding, a few coastal roads were impassable and had to be temporarily shut down.

In response to the crisis, a hospital in nearby Lampedusa attempted to send out a helicopter but was unable to do so due to the weather. Other rescue operations were launched and rushed to help as soon as possible. They were successful to an extent. The nine injured people were sent to a hospital, but the two people who were thrown out of their cars were already deceased by the time the authorities arrived. The workers searched for possibly missing people but having found none, changed their focus to reopening roads. While the immediate effects of the tornado have already been dealt with, the Sicilian islands remain a popular tourist destination spot. Every visitor or citizen of the islands faces the risk of a natural disaster such as this tornado. To help people in Italy, please consider donating to the charity linked below.


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