A freak storm off the coast of Sicily spawned a “tornado” that sank a luxury yacht on Monday, leaving one person dead and six others suspected to be missing, the island’s civil defence agency said.
Fifteen of the 22 passengers aboard the 180-foot vessel Bayesian The superyacht has been salvaged but the search continues for British technology tycoon Mike Lynch, his 18-year-old daughter Hannah Lynch, Morgan Stanley International Bank chairman Jonathan Bloomer and his wife Judy Bloomer, lawyer Chris Morvillo and his wife Neda Morvillo.
Lynch’s wife, Angela Bacalez, was among those rescued, according to local media. Reuters reported: She owned the boatThe Associated Press reported: Eight of those rescued were hospitalized.Others were moved to a hotel.
After divers recovered the body, the Palermo Port Authority identified the deceased as Recardo Tomas, also originally reported as the ship’s chef, from Antigua and Barbuda.
of Bayesian, It boasted “one of the tallest aluminium masts in the world”.According to Italian shipbuilder Perini Navi, the ship had recently made several voyages around Sicily. The ship was sailing under the British flag., According to ship-tracking website Marine Traffic.
Salvo Cocina of Sicily’s civil defense agency said the ship was “in the wrong place at the wrong time” when the tornado struck.
High winds were blowing in the area on Monday morning. “The winds were very strong. We were expecting bad weather, but we didn’t know it would be this bad.” A coast guard official in Palermo also spoke to Reuters. on tuesday.
Social media users posted videos of a water tornado that occurred off the coast of Italy on the same day. Bayesian The sunken superyacht was spotted days before the tragic accident, and a video posted online on Monday showed the superyacht being engulfed in the storm.
“Sea surface temperatures around Sicily are around 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit), nearly three degrees warmer than normal. This creates an enormous source of energy that contributes to these storms,” said climatologist Luca Mercari, president of the Italian Meteorological Society.
“So we can’t say this is all due to climate change, but we can say it has an amplifying effect,” he added.
Mercari said a water tornado or downburst, a more frequent phenomenon that doesn’t involve rotating air, could have been responsible for the yacht’s sinking.
Water tornadoes are columns of air and water mist that come in two varieties: tornado-type and clear-air. Water tornadoes can form over water or start on land and move over water. They share the same properties as land tornadoes, forming a rope-like structure and can be just as destructive.
Water tornadoes often accompany severe thunderstorms. They are accompanied by strong winds and high seas. All thunderstorms can produce tornadoes.
Dr Peter Groenemeyer, director of the European Severe Storm Laboratory (ESSL), told the Royal Meteorological Society in December last year: Italy has the highest concentration of tornadoes in EuropeIn the state, 48 tornadoes are reported each year.
According to ESSL, the average number of water tornadoes reported in the Mediterranean region during the same period was in the hundreds.
The best way to avoid water tornadoes According to the National Weather Service, the storm is expected to move at a 90-degree angle to its current direction of movement.
Rising ocean temperatures are causing changes in extreme weather, including more intense and frequent storms.
The Atlantic hurricane season Fastest Category 5 hurricane on record Hurricanes were common in June, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) announced that atmospheric and oceanic conditions were on track to result in a very active hurricane season.
The Independent newspaper Climate 100 List We will be holding an online event in New York in September.
