Floods in northern Italy leave more than 36,000 displaced

First modification: 05/20/2023 – 22:21

Violent rains earlier this week killed 14 people and turned the streets of cities and towns in the Emilia Romagna region into rivers. The authorities extended the red climate alert until Sunday, May 21.

The Italian Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni, assured this Saturday, May 20, that she plans to leave the G7 summit in Japan earlier than planned in order to attend to the emergency.

“Frankly, I can’t stay so far from Italy at such a complex moment,” he said in statements to the press. He also thanked the work of the 5,000 people, both volunteers and professional rescuers, who mobilized to help those affected by the floods.

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In addition, he thanked the other G7 leaders for offering support.

Meloni is expected to visit the worst affected regions of Italy on Sunday.

The floods have caused 305 landslides and have caused the closure of more than 500 roads and tracks in the area.

Mauro Lodola, a resident of the affected regions, described the situation to the AFP agency as follows: “The water began to rise at 2:00 p.m. on Friday, coming from the fields.” “It’s hard. I want this to end as soon as possible, so I can move on.”

Lodola’s house is totally ruined, with water around the fridge in the kitchen and soaking the mattress in her bedroom.

The mayor of Bologna, Matteo Lepore, lamented that it will take “months, and in some places perhaps years”, to recover and repair the infrastructure.

This article is an adaptation of its original in English