Tornado smashes into packed beach, tourists running for their lives
Wild footage captured the terrifying twister tearing across the shore in Maccarese, north of Rome.
Dozens of stunned sunseekers were seen sprinting across the sand as the swirling column of wind ripped umbrellas out of the ground and flung them into the air like darts.
Terrified locals and tourists clutched their bags and beach gear to their chests while desperately fleeing the chaos on Sunday.
Sand and parasols swirled high above their heads, creating a vortex over the beachfront as the tornado carved through the scene.
Incredibly, some beachgoers refused to budge — staying glued to their loungers even as the winds whipped towels and belongings across the sand.
At least one woman suffered minor injuries, according to local reports, and required medical attention after the whirlwind struck.
But the drama was far from over.
Around 1pm that same day, another violent weather spectacle was caught on camera off Italy's east coast.
A pair of towering waterspouts spun out of a thunderstorm near the Delta del Po, stunning locals and halting boat tours.
One tour boat operator paused his excursion to capture the rare double phenomenon which saw the twin columns 'dance' across the sea.
The Emilia-Romagna Meteo Facebook page later shared the eerie footage, showing the watery spires forming, folding, and merging during the storm.
Waterspouts — tornado-like funnels that form over water — aren't unheard of in Europe, with around 500 recorded each year.
But locals were warned this week to brace for more.
A moderate wind warning was issued by Italy's Meteorological Service on Monday, cautioning residents of 'moderate intensity weather phenomena' in the north.
Heavy rain and thunderstorms are also forecast to hammer the Marche and Umbria regions through late Monday morning.
Last year, a towering waterspout tornado crashed into a packed-out beach on Italy's Adriatic coast.
Holiday-makers in Salento were sent into a frenzy as the massive waterspout hurtled toward the San Cataldo, Torre Specchia, and San Foca marinas.
Videos showed the menacing spout churning out of dark clouds and charging at the beach, tossing deckchairs, tables and even jet skis into the air.
Panic erupted as families bolted from the shoreline.
One clip showed beachgoers fleeing up a flight of steps just before the spout slams into the sand, leaving a trail of wreckage behind.
Bins, umbrellas, and sunbeds were scattered across the beach like toys.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
News.com.au
a day ago
- News.com.au
Searchers seek missing after deadly Italy migrant shipwreck
Italian authorities searched Thursday for migrants missing at sea after two crowded boats sank off the island of Lampedusa, killing at least 27 people. As many as a dozen or more people are still unaccounted for following Wednesday's disaster, according to testimony from among the 60 survivors, mostly from Somalia. Three minors, including a newborn baby, and seven women and 13 men were among the dead, according to the prosecutor's office in Agrigento, on Sicily. Post-mortem examinations confirmed that those 23 died of drowning, according to the ANSA news agency. UN officials said 27 people were confirmed dead so far. The two boats had left Tripoli, Libya, earlier on Wednesday, Italy's coastguard said. It is believed one of the boats started taking on water, causing people to climb onto the other boat, which then capsized. At Lampedusa's cemetery on Thursday evening, where many of the bodies are being kept, some women came and left flowers, and prayed for the dead. "It seemed fitting, at least to stop by and say a prayer for these people who were seeking a better life," said Donata, a holidaymaker visiting the island who declined to give her family name. "They did nothing, and they died," she told AFP. - 'Waves took them both' - An Italian helicopter had spotted a capsized boat and several bodies in the water on Wednesday about 14 nautical miles off Lampedusa. One Somali woman lost her son and husband, according to an account reported by the Corriere della Sera newspaper. "I had my son in my arms and my husband beside me. I don't know how, but we found ourselves in the water. The waves took them both away from me," she said. Lampedusa, just 90 miles (145 kilometres) off the coast of Tunisia, is often the first point of arrival for people trying to reach Europe in leaky or overcrowded boats. But it is also a tourist hotspot, famed for its white sand beaches. On Thursday, it was filled with holidaymakers visiting for Friday's Ferragosto public holiday, with pleasure boats using the same port as the vessels searching for the missing. - Deadly crossing - Two of the survivors were taken by helicopter to Sicily for treatment, while the other 58 were being cared for in the reception centre on the island, according to the Red Cross. Twenty-one of them are minors and "generally in good health", said Imad Dalil, the Red Cross official who runs the reception centre. He said the majority of the survivors are Somali, with a few Egyptians. Around 95 people were on the boats, UN officials reported initially, but ANSA said it appeared there may have been more, perhaps 100 to 110 people. Filippo Grandi, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, had earlier confirmed the toll of 27 dead. "Over 700 refugees and migrants have now died in 2025 in the Central Mediterranean", which the UN judges to be the world's deadliest maritime migrant crossing, he wrote on social media. "All responses -- rescue at sea, safe pathways, helping transit countries and addressing root causes -- must be strengthened," he said. Despite the tragedy laying bare the risks, the migrant boats kept coming. Four others were intercepted off Lampedusa overnight, according to the Red Cross, while more migrants arrived during Thursday. More than 260 people were being held in the reception centre waiting for processing as of Thursday evening, ANSA said. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni offered her "deepest condolences" to the victims and vowed to step up efforts to tackle migrant traffickers. Her hard-right government took office in 2022 vowing to cut the number of migrants crossing the Mediterranean to Europe. More than 38,500 people have arrived on Italian shores so far this year, according to interior ministry figures. This is slightly up on last year but well below the 100,000 reported by the same time in 2023.
SBS Australia
3 days ago
- SBS Australia
Europe heatwave: Child dies of heatstroke as record-breaking temperatures spark wildfires
A child and three men have died, and thousands have been forced from their homes as wildfires fuelled by a heatwave scorch southern Europe. A four-year-old Romanian boy died of heatstroke in Italy on Monday, days after being found unconscious in his family's car on the island of Sardinia. On Tuesday, an employee of a Spanish equestrian centre died from his injuries in a suburb north of Madrid, officials said — reportedly as he tried to save horses. Later, officials in Castile and Leon in northwestern Spain confirmed another man had been killed while fighting fires. In Montenegro, a soldier also died, and another was seriously injured when their water tanker overturned while fighting wildfires in the hills north of the capital, Podgorica. 'A significantly warmer world' Heat alerts were issued in Italy, France, Spain, Portugal and the Balkans, with temperatures expected to soar above 40C, and experts say the heatwave is another sign of climate change, which is fuelling longer, more intense and increasingly frequent bouts of extreme heat. "Thanks to climate change, we now live in a significantly warmer world," Akshay Deoras, a research scientist at the meteorology department in England's University of Reading told the Agence France-Presse news agency, adding that "many still underestimate the danger". Thousands forced from their homes Hundreds of residents of Tres Cantos, near the Spanish capital Madrid, fled from the fast-moving blaze, which was contained on Tuesday morning. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said on X that rescue services were "working tirelessly to extinguish the fires." Elsewhere, about 2,000 people were evacuated from hotels and homes near the popular beaches of Tarifa in Andalusia, southern Spain. In Castile and Leon, dozens of blazes were reported, including one threatening Las Medulas, a UNESCO World Heritage site known for its ancient Roman gold mines. In neighbouring Portugal, firefighters battled three large wildfires, with the most serious near Trancoso in the centre of the country, where 700 firefighters were deployed.
ABC News
3 days ago
- ABC News
Coastal erosion forces demolition of popular Lancelin lookout in WA
Demolition work is underway to remove a lookout in Western Australia that has become synonymous with 360-degree views, sunsets and marriage proposals. It comes after coastal erosion in Lancelin, on state's Midwest coast, put the structure at risk of crumbling into the ocean. Lancelin, about 125 kilometres north of Perth, is home to fewer than 1,000 residents but swells to up 5,000 with tourists during the holiday season. Peter Murphy has lived in Lancelin for over a decade and is on the town's District Community Association. The association was the driving force behind building the lookout in 2019. Mr Murphy said the $245,000 jointly funded lookout became iconic for the town. "It's the only place [in Lancelin] with a magic 360-degree view," Mr Murphy said. "People congregate on the lookout with a glass of wine and a deck chair to watch the [New Year's Eve] fireworks." But the decision to remove the lookout before it crumbled away did not feel real to Mr Murphy. "It's terrible, we never expected this sort of event to happen," he said. "I think I, amongst other people, have in mind that this is temporary and we will get the lookout back." Gingin Shire president Linda Balcombe said the removal of Lancelin's lookout would be emotional for many people. "I've been really sad about this whole thing, I wish we could save it," she said. "I think it will make us realise what we can lose if we don't look after it." Last month, council sounded the alarm on coastal erosion as predicted strong winter tides were putting homes and businesses at risk. Following ABC coverage of the damage erosion was causing Lancelin, the state government funded $150,000 to build a natural coastal barrier, designed to protect a local hotel for another few years once in place. But Ms Balcombe said she felt not everyone understood the constant threat erosion posed to coastal communities. "I don't think people understand enough what's been happening up and down the coast," she said. "Some [residents] are quite surprised [at the erosion] and others will say it's cyclic and the beach will come back. "And I understand that, but at the moment it's a concern." Just under a three-hour drive north of Lancelin, the town of Port Denison has the same battle. Six years ago, the shire worked with state government to control erosion in the area with stabilised earth procedures, which mixed existing beach sand with water and cement. But Irwin Shire President Mark Leonard said a stretch of 600 metres was now at risk of eroding away. "Behind that 600m stretch is around $40 million worth of public infrastructure, which is our rec centre, pump track, aged care units, roads, car parks," he said. In July last year, extreme coastal erosion forced the demolition of Geraldton's marine rescue building, which cost $880,000 to reopen in 2016. The shoreline of Point Moore, where the building sat, was lost to vicious waves rapidly. Seeing what had happened in Geraldton and now Lancelin, Mr Leonard said further mitigation works were needed in Port Denison before it was too late. University of WA coastal engineering professor Arnold Van Rooijen said shoreline erosion was not a new issue for sites along the state's coast. "We see around some of these shorelines that have features that stick out into the ocean … nature essentially wanting to straighten the coastline," Dr Van Rooijen said. "So it's quite common around the world and Australia to see areas experience ongoing retreat." But Dr Van Rooijen said large coastal infrastructure like ports influenced coastal processes with "erosion on one side and accretion on the other". He said although contributions to erosion along the coast had recurring themes, a holistic approach was needed to minimise impacts. "[WA] os a very long coastline, it's sparsely populated and very complex with a lot of limestone … cliffs and marine ecosystems," Dr Van Rooijen said. "I think governments are working very hard to deal with this issue, but it's definitely not straightforward and every site needs a tailored approach."
