Italian town plagued by midges, residents ask authorities to declare state of emergency

Residents of the Italian city of Orbetello, located in the Tuscany region in the province of Grosseto, are demanding a state of emergency be declared due to a midge infestation.

This is reported by the Associated Press.

Millions of tiny insects have invaded a town that is part of the Orbetello Lagoon nature reserve, forcing people to stay indoors and threatening businesses that rely on tourists, the AP reports.

Fishermen blame the mass death of fish fry in 2024, which were eating insect larvae. Similar incidents have occurred before. According to local residents, the fish plague is a consequence of a decrease in oxygen in the lagoon ecosystem.

The city hall has allocated €300 000

and promised to take measures to combat the infestation. Orbetello has also set up a permanent commission on the issue. But residents are demanding that a state of emergency be declared in the region, which would free up even more funding. The petition “Save the Orbetello Lagoon” has collected over 19 000 online signatures.

"We canʼt walk outside, we canʼt open the windows. We are isolated at home, like in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic," the petition reads.

Pier Luigi Piro, president of the Orbetello fishing cooperative, believes that the lagoon ecosystem needs serious investment — the canals need to be cleaned, which will facilitate the exchange of water between the lagoon and the Tyrrhenian Sea. He hopes that the city hall, in collaboration with trade groups, will get to work as soon as possible.

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