The heat wave deprived hundreds of thousands of Sicilian residents of electricity and water in the region of Catania, a city “kneeling” According to the mayor, as a crisis meeting was organized on Monday. The mercury there rose again to 47.6°C on Monday 24 July, according to the Civil Protection of Catania, in the east of the island.
A municipal spokesman told AFP that since Thursday, some 500,000 people have been deprived of power.
sequel after announcement
“On the one hand, we are paying the price for climate change, which should have been given more attention for several years, and on the other hand, that associated with an infrastructure that seems completely unsuitable for the new context.”announced the Minister of Civil Protection, Nilo Musumesi, citing news agencies.
Damage to buried cables
E-Distribuzione, a subsidiary of the Italian energy giant Enel that manages electricity distribution in Catania, explained that “The asphalt temperature is very hot and has been approaching 50 degrees Celsius for weeks. This, combined with the high humidity, does not allow the heat to dissipate properly, which leads to damage to the buried cables.”.
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The mayor of Catania, Enrico Tarantino, said he did “I asked E-Distribuzione to speed up interventions for the return of electricity as possible (…) to put the city on its knees again on its feet (…)”. For its part, the group claimed to have deployed hundreds of technicians and dozens of generators.
Water cuts for more than 200,000 people
The director of the Sidra water network said that the power outage cut off water for 200,000 to 300,000 people, adding that the problems were resolved on Monday morning.
Local authorities provided air-conditioned spaces for the elderly and other vulnerable people as well as the homeless, and asked people to use air conditioners in moderation so that problems would not be exacerbated.
