Go Back
  • For Business
  • |
  • Warnings
  • Data Suite
  • Newsletters
  • Advertising
  • Superior Accuracy™
Death toll in Texas reaches 129 as flash flood threat expands. Chevron right
Life-threatening flash flooding ongoing across central Texas. Get the forecast Chevron right

Columbus, OH

77°F
Location Chevron down
Location News Videos
Use Current Location
Recent

Columbus

Ohio

77°
No results found.
Try searching for a city, zip code or point of interest.
settings
Columbus, OH Weather
Today WinterCast Local {stormName} Tracker Hourly Daily Radar MinuteCast Monthly Air Quality Health & Activities

Around the Globe

Hurricane Tracker

Severe Weather

Radar & Maps

News

News & Features

Astronomy

Business

Climate

Health

Recreation

Sports

Travel

For Business

Warnings

Data Suite

Newsletters

Advertising

Superior Accuracy™

Video

Winter Center

AccuWeather Early Hurricane Center Top Stories Trending Today Astronomy Heat Climate Health Recreation In Memoriam Case Studies Blogs & Webinars

News / Severe Weather

Heaviest rainfall 'since at least 1790' causes apocalyptic scene in Sicily

Published Jul 17, 2020 6:45 PM EDT

Copied

Described as a “bomba d’acqua” or “water bomb,” the torrential rainfall that the city of Palermo on the island of Sicily received triggered massive flash floods.

Dramatic cellphone footage showed emergency crews searching for people thought to be trapped in cars near a flooded underpass, as the city of Palermo, located on the Italian island of Sicily, experienced what the mayor there described as the heaviest rainfall in more than 200 years on Wednesday.

The scene in the Italian city was apocalyptic as vehicles were seen tossed about and floating in the deep floodwaters. Some motorists escaped their vehicles and were seen trying to swim to safety. In the video, sirens and car horns can be heard blaring as the camera pans left and right surveying the mayhem. Driving rain can be heard along with intermittent claps of thunder. On the overpass, cars were stuck in a traffic jam overlooking the horrific scene unfolding below.

Firefighters and emergency crews reportedly spent all night swimming through the waters, in search of people who might have drowned in the flooding. Although initial reports said that two people had died in the floods, Palermo police and firefighters said on Thursday they could not confirm the deaths. Two small children were hospitalized and were being treated for hypothermia, according to Italian news agency ANSA.

The magnitude of rain that fell in such a short span of time -- especially given that rainfall is uncommon during this time of the year in the area -- triggered chaos.

Gabriella Gangi, the woman who recorded the footage, said she could see people swimming everywhere, as they fled their cars and tried to make it out of the water.

"So much fear and so much damage caused by flooding," Gangi said. "Cars destroyed, children pulled out from submerged cars. Rescue operations are not yet completed. Police and firefighters plunged into the mud to rescue trapped people in their submerged cars."

In another video posted on social media, a motorist could be seen sitting on top of a car that was almost completely submerged in the floodwaters, trying to make a call on a cellphone.

Rain began falling on Wednesday afternoon and increased in intensity for several hours, creating floods in all major roads of the Sicilian capital.

"According to weather observations from the area, 3.90 inches of rain (99.2 mm) fell over the area in just three hours," said AccuWeather Meteorologist Maura Kelly, explaining why drainage systems quickly became overwhelmed. "In addition, any rain that fell in the mountains to the south of the city could rush to lower elevations, adding to floodwaters inundating the area."

Although rain is not common during this time of the year in the area, as "typically less than 0.40 of an inch (10 mm) is reported throughout the month of July," the storm conditions quickly started to brew as the summer moisture and humidity fueled showers and thunderstorms across southern Italy, Sicily and the Tyrrhenian Sea throughout the afternoon, Kelly said.

Palermo Flooding

Cars are piled as others remain trapped in water and mud after an underpass, seen in the background, flooded on Wednesday in the Sicilian city of Palermo, southern Italy, as seen early Thursday, July 16, 2020. Firefighters were draining the underpass and searching for possible missing persons. (Vigili del Fuoco via AP)

(Vigili del Fuoco via AP)

The greatest problem and the reason the storm led to catastrophic consequences, according to Palermo Mayor Leoluca Orlando, was that the city was not prepared for such a magnitude of rain, as no warnings or weather alerts were issued by the civil protection agency in advance.

"Over a meter of rain has fallen in Palermo in less than two hours," Orlando said, according to the English-language news magazine Wanted in Rome. Orlando said the outburst of precipitation was "the most violent rain in the history of the city since at least 1790, equal to that which falls in a year."

Orlando said that if the city had received a weather alert in advance, "procedures would have been activated which, despite the extraordinary nature of today's events, could have mitigated the risks."

By Thursday, sunshine had returned in Palermo along with warm temperatures, but tepid floodwaters and vehicles strewn about by the raging deluge remained, according to photos released by Vigili del Fuoco, Italy's emergency management agency.

Related:

Man’s terrifying brush with death in flash flood caught on video
Flooding continues to wreak havoc across China, including in Wuhan
Sunken medieval Italian village may resurface for 1st time since 1994

Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier and Verizon Fios.

Report a Typo
Comments that don't add to the conversation may be automatically or manually removed by Facebook or AccuWeather. Profanity, personal attacks, and spam will not be tolerated.
Comments
Hide Comments

Weather News

Weather News

Death toll reaches 129 as flash flood threat expands in Texas Hill Cou...

Jul. 13, 2025
Hurricane

Tropical trouble in the Atlantic may brew this week

Jul. 13, 2025
Weather News

Flash flooding swamps Iowa Quad Cities as storms unleash damaging rain

Jul. 12, 2025
video

Before-and-after pictures show devastation caused by Texas floods

Jul. 9, 2025
Severe Weather

Severe weather to rumble in the central US through the holiday weekend

Jul. 6, 2025
Weather News

Record sargassum seaweed piles up on Caribbean islands, Gulf

Jul. 2, 2025
Weather News

Alabama teen in ICU after lightning strike hits boat, causing burns an...

Jul. 2, 2025
Show more Show less Chevron down

Topics

AccuWeather Early

Hurricane Center

Top Stories

Trending Today

Astronomy

Heat

Climate

Health

Recreation

In Memoriam

Case Studies

Blogs & Webinars

Top Stories

Weather Forecasts

Thunderstorms fuel increasing flash flooding threat in Texas

2 hours ago

Weather News

Engine fuel supply cut just before Air India jet crash, report says

2 hours ago

Weather News

Texas Hill Country: Before, during and after the flood

1 day ago

Weather News

Flash flooding swamps Iowa Quad Cities as storms unleash damaging rain

21 hours ago

Severe Weather

Rounds of severe storms to rattle, drench eastern US

4 hours ago

More Stories

Featured Stories

Health

How can families handle new anxieties around summer camp?

1 day ago

Weather News

Viral pygmy hippo Moo Deng celebrates her first birthday

2 days ago

Weather News

Orcas are bringing humans gifts of food – but why?

2 days ago

Business

Samsung is looking into more AI devices potentially including earrings...

2 days ago

Weather News

The US has a plan to breed millions of flies and drop them from planes

2 days ago

AccuWeather Severe Weather Heaviest rainfall 'since at least 1790' causes apocalyptic scene in Sicily
Company
Proven Superior Accuracy About AccuWeather Digital Advertising Careers Press Contact Us
Products & Services
For Business For Partners For Advertising AccuWeather APIs AccuWeather Connect RealFeel® and RealFeel Shade™ Personal Weather Stations
Apps & Downloads
iPhone App Android App See all Apps & Downloads
Subscription Services
AccuWeather Premium AccuWeather Professional
More
AccuWeather Ready Business Health Hurricane Leisure and Recreation Severe Weather Space and Astronomy Sports Travel Weather News Winter Center
Company
Proven Superior Accuracy About AccuWeather Digital Advertising Careers Press Contact Us
Products & Services
For Business For Partners For Advertising AccuWeather APIs AccuWeather Connect RealFeel® and RealFeel Shade™ Personal Weather Stations
Apps & Downloads
iPhone App Android App See all Apps & Downloads
Subscription Services
AccuWeather Premium AccuWeather Professional
More
AccuWeather Ready Business Health Hurricane Leisure and Recreation Severe Weather Space and Astronomy Sports Travel Weather News Winter Center
© 2025 AccuWeather, Inc. "AccuWeather" and sun design are registered trademarks of AccuWeather, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Cookie Policy | About Your Privacy Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information

...

...

...