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Sicily in February/Cyclone Harry

Hi everyone, we have a trip planned to eastern Sicily in late February. The island just got hit badly by Cyclone Harry. I'm wondering if going there will still be a good idea if we avoid the coastal areas. I've seen a lot of damage online and it looks awful, but it does appear to be mostly on the coast. Going in February, this is obviously not a beach trip.

It'd be great to hear from anyone who is there now or who has lived there in the past to get a sense of how fast recovery efforts can be there. We got hit with two bad hurricanes in Florida in 2024, but some of our beach areas (not all) were OK to visit after a month. Plus, I know that visitors can help put money into the economy so long as they don't interfere with cleanup.

Thank you,
Vanessa

Posted by
768 posts

I've been waiting for a response from someone in Sicily but I'll give this thread a bump w this story from the main Sicilian daily
https://palermo.gds.it/articoli/cronaca/2026/01/21/ciclone-harry-oltre-mezzo-milione-di-danni-in-sicilia-catania-tra-le-citta-piu-colpite-le-foto-1b373284-9156-44d5-b4aa-902044456c92/

You can translate it into English but the story says things are really bad infrastructure-wise on the east coast. Catania and Messina are mentioned specifically. Messina is listed in other articles as being particularly bad. Rail traffic (commercial) has already been restored as this is how a lot of aide and rebuilding materials will travel.

There was some damage to Trapani and south along the low lying coast, and in Palermo; particularly the small boat harbor but it doesn't sound like anything that would impact travel unless you're using a ferry. I believe ferry traffic has been suspended temporarily so they can efficiently and safely clean the area of debris.

On the bright side, the alerts were heeded and shockingly there were no deaths.

Posted by
59 posts

We will be in Sicily mid March and I'm also wondering how infrastructure will be by then. I'll follow your thread. We were flying into Palermo, but taking the train out from Taormina. I'm wondering if rail will be up and running from there?

Thanks for any info.
Vicki