At least nine dead from floods in northern Italy

First modification: 05/18/2023 – 00:36

At least nine people lost their lives in the floods in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy. Thousands of residents also had to leave their homes. The streets of several towns were submerged by water and many residents were trapped, forced to take refuge on the roofs of their houses.

In a statement, the region’s authorities reported that “five hundred and ten firefighters are mobilized and one hundred” are being deployed, the “priority is to ensure the entire affected population.”

The president of the Emilia Romagna region, Stefano Bonaccini, announced that 13,000 inhabitants have had to be evacuated, including 3,000 in Bologna, 5,000 in Faenza and 5,000 in the Ravenna area. He also warned that “the number is bound to increase.”

Although the region has been affected by bad weather and heavy rains since the beginning of the month, the night from Tuesday May 16 to Wednesday May 17 was “more complicated than the previous ones,” warned Titti Postiglione, deputy head of the Civil Protection Agency. In addition, the rain is expected to continue to fall for several hours.

“It’s probably the worst night in the history of Romagna,” Postiglione confided.

Half of the average annual precipitation in 36 hours

The region of Emilia-Romagna is facing an unprecedented situation. Some areas would have received half of the average annual rainfall in just 36 hours, as reported by the Minister of Civil Protection, Nello Musumeci, causing rivers to overflow and cities to flood.

37 towns and communities were affected as some 120 landslides were recorded. Thousands of acres of farmland were also submerged.

“We are facing unprecedented catastrophes,” the president of the Emilia-Romagna region, Stefano Bonaccini, told reporters. “Extraordinary amounts of rain have fallen on land that is no longer capable of absorbing it.”

This event comes after months of drought that had dried out the land, reducing its water-absorbing capacity and, according to forecasters, worsening flood damage.

According to Civil Protection Minister Nello Musumeci, the climate crisis is now forcing Italy to rethink its water management system.

“If we had designed a rainwater distribution system capable of absorbing 1,000 millimeters in twelve months, now we have to think of a system that will have to absorb 500 millimeters in forty-eight hours,” he commented.

“Nothing will be like before, because this tropicalization process coming from Africa also involves Italy,” added Musumeci.

30 million euros of aid

Musumeci met this afternoon with various officials from other ministries to assess the damage and decree some urgent measures in the face of the disaster.

As reported by the minister, the Italian Executive will hold a Council of Ministers next Tuesday in which an emergency fund of 20 million euros will be activated, adding to the 10 million approved at the beginning of the month after another day of untimely rains.

Government officials declared that for the duration of the emergency, tax and mortgage payments would be suspended in the affected regions. Aid for workers in the agricultural sector, deeply affected by the catastrophe, is also being studied.

For her part, the Italian Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni, expressed her support for the population, assuring that the Government was “ready to intervene with the necessary help”.

He also congratulated the rescue personnel on Twitter:

“Deeply grateful to the men and women who during these hours have participated in rescue operations to help people affected by inclement weather, risking their own lives to save those of others. Thank you for your extraordinary work.”

With EFE, Reuters and AFP