Council of Ministers

Bad weather, Musumeci: "Cdm allocates 100 million for Calabria, Sicily and Sardinia". Governors: damage amounting to 1.2 billion

This concerns the regions affected by the exceptional weather events that occurred on or after 18 January 2026

by Rome Editorial Staff

26 January 2026

Scenari da devastazione in occasione dell’ondata di maltempo che ha travolto i borghi marinari di Acireale

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Translated by AI

Versione italiana

Key points

Governors estimate damage at 1.2 billion
Maltempo, Meloni: "State close to the territories, Italy even more united in emergencies"
Occhiuto: "300 million damage for Calabria"
Schifani: "Meloni agrees on plan for offshore barriers"

4' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

After the devastations of Cyclone Harry, the Council of Ministers has allocated an initial aid of 100 million euro for Sicily, Sardinia and Calabria. "The Meloni government has deliberated the declaration of the state of national emergency in the territories of Sicily, Sardinia and Calabria affected by the violent bad weather of the past few days," announced Minister for Civil Protection and Sea Policy Nello Musumeci in a note released after the Council of Ministers. The minister explained that 'the state of emergency may last 12 months, extendable for another 12, as provided for in the Civil Protection Code. To cope with the very first interventions foreseen by art. 25 letters a,B,c of the Civil Protection Code, the total sum of 100 million euro has been deliberated, from the National Emergency Fund'.

Governors estimate damage at 1.2 billion

The meeting at Palazzo Chigi was attended by the governors of the three regions, Roberto Occhiuto, Renato Schifani, and Alessandra Todde, invited by the government. Musumeci stressed that the estimate of the damage caused by Cyclone Harry "was made by the regional presidents, but it is not reliable because it is an estimate, as the presidents themselves have admitted, very approximate, 1 billion 241 million. It could be subject to increase or, as I hope, decrease'.

"An initial reconnaissance is in place and unfortunately it tends to exceed EUR 1.5 billion in direct and indirect damages, because every day that passes naturally brings forth damages that do not immediately emerge. So these are not indifferent damages'. This was said by the President of the Region of Sicily, Renato Schifani, speaking to journalists before attending the summit at Palazzo Chigi. "This has been an extraordinary event," he added, "an event that has brought to its knees a priority tourist-hotel area of Sicily, the Taormina area, for which we also fear the collapse of tourist facilities in a centre that has excelled in Sicily as a tourist-hotel attraction GDP.

Maltempo, Meloni: "State close to territories, Italy even more united in emergencies"

"In today's Council of Ministers, the government resolved to declare a state of national emergency for Sicily, Sardinia and Calabria, the regions worst hit by the bad weather in recent days". Thus, on social media, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. "We have contextually allocated 100 million euros for the first urgent interventions. The State is close to the citizens and the territories. The regions, with their presidents appointed as extraordinary commissioners, will have the appropriate means and powers to intervene in an effective and timely manner. Once again, I would like to thank Minister Nello Musumeci, the Civil Protection, the local administrations, and all the dedicated operators. In emergencies, Italy knows how to be an even more united community,' concluded the Prime Minister.

Occhiuto: "300 million in damage for Calabria"

"There are about 300 million euros of damage for Calabria, clearly it is a rough estimate and now we are doing a more precise reconnaissance". This was said by the president of the Calabria Region and deputy secretary of Forza Italia, Roberto Occhiuto, speaking to journalists outside Palazzo Chigi before attending the Council of Ministers. "We expect a state of emergency to be declared, as we have asked for with special council resolutions. Calabria has done so, the other regions have also done so,' he emphasised. 'We expect an initial allocation to be able to proceed with the work to be carried out as a matter of urgency and also some other measure with a more substantial financial endowment, which is difficult to quantify because the quantification of the damage is being carried out precisely in these days in a timely manner. And he explained: 'We are interested in there being a measure to ensure that all those who have lost their business are compensated. I have seen people crying because their restaurant or their business with which they fed their family was no longer there, so we are asking for these damages to be restored first and foremost'. And with regard to the timeframe, he said: 'If an emergency declaration is made, as we expect, it can be very quick because we are going to derogate from every constraint of every law.

Schifani: 'Cdm allocation is a first step'

"The total allocation of 33 million euro by the Council of Ministers to Sicily for the damage caused by Cyclone Harry represents the first step on a path and a sign of solidarity for the populations affected. These resources are added to the 70 million made available by my government, thus bringing the total sums available for the first interventions to 103 million. I am certain that this is a start and after the ordinance for derogations, other decrees will follow to allocate additional funds'. This was said by the President of the Sicilian Region, Renato Schifani, who took part, with the rank of minister as envisaged by the Statute, in this afternoon's meeting of the Council of Ministers during which the state of national emergency for the damage caused by Cyclone Harry was resolved.

Schifani: 'Meloni agrees on plan for offshore barriers'

That of the offshore barriers, Schifani explained, 'is my assessment of the national strategic plan. It is clear that the ecosystem has changed, so we have to ask ourselves these questions, and naturally I have found the premier's full agreement. In the face of these natural events, I believe it is the obligation and duty of the institutions to adapt to avoid and prevent damage from natural disasters compared to the past. The coasts must be protected'. "I have seen it, I have experienced it," he added, "I spent the weekend touring these places, and they are devastating situations where the sea seems to have gone crazy, 16-17 metre waves that have entered the longshore, of course devastating flats, shops, beach lidos and more. And so these episodes must be fought, with prevention, and prevention, the new port planning, provides for precisely this: large docks at a distance under water, which therefore do not offend the landscape, large triangular boulders that skim the water, so they do not make an environmental impact, but break the wave. And this, of course, will be a commitment of the various national regional governments, it will take a plan that certainly won't be realised in a year, but it is necessary and if we don't start it can't be completed".