Moment tornado rips through Sicilian tourist hotspot flipping cars

DAILYMAIL.COM • 7h ago

By WILL HALLOWELL, NEWS REPORTER 12:14 09 Oct 2026, updated 12:23 09 Oct 2026

This is the moment a ‘violent’ tornado rips through a Sicilian tourist hotspot as Europe is lashed by storms and flooding.

Terrifying footage shows a huge whirlwind moving rapidly through the city of Marsala on Friday, leaving residents fearing for their lives.

It was so strong that cars were destroyed after being upturned with schools also damaged, according to local reports, and several people were left injured.

The situation has been described as an ’emergency’ as panic spread across the city this morning.

Footage shows a number of cars flipped on their side or upside down with smashed in windows, lights and doors.

One vehicle was flung into a ravine in the chaos.

Meanwhile at Alcide De Gasperi school in Strasatti, fixtures were torn off, windows were shattered, cabinets and bookshelves overturned in the middle of lessons and classroom floors were left littered with debris.

The Italian fire service said five crews have been deployed to the area with reinforcements planned and that two people were treated by paramedics.

Several people were treated for injuries but are in a non-life threatening condition, according to La Sicilia.

One woman who witnessed the tornado this morning said: ‘I’ve never been afraid of dying like I was a few hours ago. This stuff in two minutes became four times bigger.

‘I’m still shaking but luckily everything’s ok at my house. The rest no ambulances can be heard everywhere. There’s a hell.’

She added: ‘There’s a middle school that’s been destroyed, a house hit full-on with overturned trucks and cars, they say the lightning went right inside the house, I hope they’re alive.

‘There are people saying that folks have gone missing, it’s a hellscape, guys, I want to cry.’

Vigili del Fuoco, the Italian fire service, said in an X post: ‘Trapani firefighter interventions underway in the areas of Marsala, Petrosino, and Mazara del Vallo for damage caused by a waterspout.

‘In Petrosino, a middle school damaged by the wind. Reinforcement teams arriving from Palermo and Agrigento.’

Sharing footage of the tornado in Marsala on Friday, French meteorologist Guillaume Séchet said: ‘A violent tornado struck the Marsala area on the west coast of Sicily this morning.

‘The damage is locally significant in the area, and several vehicles are said to have been overturned in particular.’

Italia 24H Live reported on X: ‘Numerous damages in the morning in Marsala due to the passage of several tornadoes.

‘Reported some cars lifted meters off the ground and roofs torn off. Also reported waterspouts offshore.’

Meanwhile self-described ‘thunderstorm-tornado nerd’ Federico Pavan said: ‘This could be the most intense Sicilian tornado in several decades, with cars being hurled around.’

A spokesman for the fire service said: ‘A tornado struck the province of Trapani, particularly affecting the areas of Marsala, Petrosino, and Mazara del Vallo.

‘Five firefighter teams from across the province were deployed to the area for rescue operations.

‘In the Marsala area, the severe weather event struck the Alcide De Gasperi Institute, causing damage to the building—blown window frames, broken windows, and scattered school supplies—and widespread devastation.

‘Elsewhere in the area, several cars were overturned by the tornado, the most serious incident in Petrosino, where a car ended up in a ravine.

‘Two people were injured and were treated by firefighters and paramedics.

‘Reinforcement teams from the Palermo and Agrigento command centers are arriving to address the serious situation.’

It comes as parts of Europe are lashed by storms and flooding. According to Geopop, temperatures across Italy have plummeted to between 5C and 8C as cold air swoops across the continent from the North Atlantic.

Naples has seen ‘violent’ wind and rain over the past 24 hours while Lazio was hit by storms, causing secondary streams to overflow and tree branches to block roads as fire crews were deployed to clear garages and basements.

Meanwhile brutal storms last month battered one of Spain’s most popular holiday hotspots, with torrential rain and flash flooding turning streets to rivers.

The Costa Blanca was lashed by severe weather as storms tore through the province of Alicante, just 48 hours after a British man died in flash floods near Barcelona.

Up to 50 litres of rain per square metre fell along parts of the coast in just a few hours.

The deluge was accompanied by booming thunder and lightning strikes, with sudden flooding turning roads into rivers.

Dramatic footage showed dozens of cars stranded in muddy floodwater as containers were swept into the path of traffic.

Another clip showed water surging onto a bar terrace, leaving chairs and tables submerged.

It comes after Europe endured a summer of searing heat, with more than half the continent exposed to dangerous temperatures that posed a serious risk to human health.

New data reveals that a record 52 per cent of Europe experienced at least ‘very strong’ heat stress during the season, equivalent to feels-like temperatures of 38C or higher.

The extreme conditions helped make it Europe’s third-warmest summer on record and the hottest ever recorded in western Europe.

According to scientists, unusually hot weather arrived early, with the first major heatwave sweeping across large parts of western Europe in late May.

The heat then refused to let up, persisting through June, July and August and continuing into September.

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