British tourists going to Italy have been hit with an ‘explosive health and hygiene warning’ after a disastrous issue in a popular touristm spot.
A water emergency has broken out at Italy’s popular Capri Island, one of the country’s most popular for British tourists. It means there is no water supply in large areas of the city.
As a result, the mayor of Capri has called an immediate halt to tourist arriving on the island because the lack of running water means essential services ‘cannot be guaranteed’.
Without a water supply it is impossible to guarantee essential services to “thousands of people” who travel to the island daily during the tourist season, mayor Paolo Falco said.
“The health and hygiene situation is explosive, we have taken our countermeasures and activated the crisis unit and issued a restrictive order,” the mayor’s order said.
The emergency was caused by a failure in the mainland’s water system that provides vital supplies to the world-known island.
At the moment water is still supplied to most of the island, but some isolated areas of the upper municipality of Anacapri are already dry.
Only local reservoirs supply the network, which in the absence of supplies from the mainland risks being run out.
Meanwhile, tanks are expected to reach the island to support essential services, pending the restoration of full supply.
The mayor’s order was notified shortly after 9am local time, causing an immediate stop to ticket sales.
The move has created long lines of passengers at ticket offices at the ports of the southern city of Naples, the departing point for most ferries to Capri.
Ferries and hydrofoils that had already departed for Capri were contacted by radio by the maritime authorities, which ordered their return to port and disembarkation of passengers.