Tornado and waterspouts hit western Sicily, damaging a Marsala school and displacing 11 families

A tornado and waterspouts along the Trapani coast

On Friday 9 October, two sea waterspouts formed off the coast of Marsala in the morning before a tornado moved inland across the Trapani province of western Sicily. Local media reported that the funnel crossed Marsala and the neighbouring towns of Petrosino and Mazara del Vallo, damaging buildings and overturning cars and trucks on the streets. Franceinfo placed the tornado over the west of the island at about 10:00 and reported that at least five homes had been destroyed. Salvatore Cocina, head of the Sicilian civil protection agency, told Reuters that it was almost like an American tornado.

Casualties and a damaged school

Figures on injuries differ between reports. Super Express, citing ANSA, said nine people, including four children, were taken to the local emergency department with cuts and other minor injuries. RMF24, citing Reuters, reported two people surprised by the storm while driving and taken to hospital in serious condition, and HotNews.ro reported a couple in a car in serious condition. Franceinfo reported two motorists injured after being thrown into a ravine. The Alcide De Gasperi school in the Terrenove district of Marsala was badly damaged, with broken windows and a partly collapsed ceiling visible in footage shared online. Franceinfo reported that 273 children were inside and that six pupils were slightly injured, and school director Leonardo Gullotta said staff had never imagined the storm would strike directly above the building.

Displaced families and the emergency request

ANSA reported that eleven families were left without homes. In Marsala, three households, seven people in total, could not sleep in their houses because they were uninhabitable or destroyed. The municipality housed one family of three in a hotel, and the other two households stayed with friends and relatives. In Petrosino, eight families were displaced, with four housed by the municipality in a hotel and four staying with relatives, as confirmed by mayor Giacomo Anastasi.

Petrosino's municipal council approved a resolution asking the Sicilian regional government to start the procedures for a national state of emergency and to provide technical, operational and financial support. Anastasi said:

Petrosino cannot be left alone to face the consequences of a weather event of this scale.

Regional response and ongoing risk

Renato Schifani, president of the Sicilian region, visited the Marsala school on Saturday together with regional assessor Mimmo Turano and Marsala mayor Andreana Patti. Schifani said:

Allocations will not be lacking, and we will intervene financially through civil protection and the municipal administration so that everything is restored.

Cocina said the growing problem of extreme weather is linked to the climate crisis. Civil protection had warned in early September that a hot summer had built up heat that could bring extreme weather in autumn. An alert for possible extreme events remained in force on Saturday as rain and storms continued to affect the island. Damage counts in Marsala and Petrosino were still under way, and no final cost of the damage had been given.