Sicily uses naval tanker to supply drought-hit areas

ROME (AFP) – Authorities in Sicily, Italy, deployed a naval tanker on Friday to move water from one side of the drought-stricken island to the other, while another region in southern Italy declared a state of emergency for water supplies.

The Italian naval tanker ‘Ticino’ left Augusta on the southeastern coast of Sicily on Thursday evening with 1,200 cubic meters of water on board, destined for the arid southwest, local authorities said.

It arrived Friday afternoon at the port of Licata with the aim of discharging the water into the network in Agrigento, home to the famous Valley of the Temples, a process that will take 25-30 hours. “We are working hard to implement every initiative necessary to alleviate the effects of the drought that is affecting Sicily and many other countries

“Mediterranean areas,” said the president of the Sicilian region, Renato Schifani.

But he said the problem requires more effort to address years of “structural problems” in Sicily’s water network.

Sicily, which set a European heat record in 2021 with 48.8 degrees Celsius, declared a state of emergency in early February due to drought after a winter without rain.

The situation is becoming increasingly urgent, especially for farmers.

Across the Strait of Messina, the southern Italian region of Calabria declared a state of emergency on Friday due to “a serious shortage of drinking water” around the city of Reggio Calabria and the province of Crotone.

Civil protection authorities will now assess what “urgent interventions” are needed to help local residents, a statement said.

Drought has hit the western Mediterranean, with serious consequences for North Africa and parts of Spain.