Tornado Injures 11 in Western Sicily, Tears Through School Packed With Students

A powerful tornado tore through the Sicilian city of Marsala on Friday morning, injuring 11 people — some critically — flipping cars and trucks, and ripping into homes while 273 children sheltered inside a nearby school.

The tornado struck Marsala, a coastal city of about 80,000 people in the province of Trapani, around 10 a.m. before moving inland through the neighboring towns of Petrosino and Mazara del Vallo.

Salvatore Cocina, head of Sicily’s Civil Protection agency, described the storm’s intensity to Reuters. “It was almost like an American tornado, nothing this violent has been seen in living memory,” he said.

Marsala Mayor Andreana Patti said aerial images from the Air Force revealed widespread destruction. “Looking at the images the Air Force provided us this morning, we’re looking at a war scene: destroyed homes, cars thrown off the road,” she told the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera.

In Petrosino, a couple driving through the town was hospitalized in serious condition after their vehicle was swept into a ravine. A 70-year-old man suffered multiple fractures and was taken to the trauma center at Villa Sofia Hospital in Palermo, where he remained in critical condition, according to Corriere della Sera.

Students Sheltered as Ceilings Collapsed

At Marsala’s Alcide De Gasperi school, principal Leonardo Gullotta said 273 children were inside the building when the tornado struck. Staff moved students into interior spaces as windows shattered and sections of the ceiling gave way.

“I had warned the schools to be alert,” Gullotta told La Repubblica. “Luckily, the teachers saw the danger, but we didn’t think we’d be so unlucky that it would pass right over our school.”

Six students were treated at the hospital following the storm, Corriere della Sera reported.

Warnings and Climate Concerns

Italy’s Civil Protection agency had warned in early September, following a summer heatwave, that built-up heat could fuel extreme weather in the fall. Cocina said the tornado underscored that pattern.

“It once again highlights the issue of extreme weather events, a characteristic of recent years due to the climate crisis,” he said.

Video from the aftermath showed overturned vehicles with roofs torn off and power poles toppled across the affected towns.

Pietro, a resident whose home was destroyed, told LaPresse residents were left without answers. “We don’t know where we’ll sleep or who will pay for this damage,” he said.

Sicily’s regional president, Renato Schifani, said he planned to visit the area on Saturday and announced plans to allocate emergency funds to help rebuild the affected communities.