A total of five individuals have perished, according to authorities, after the disastrous storms struck the Emilia-Romagna area of northern Italy. The region experienced massive flooding as a result of 15 rivers overflowing their banks, causing residents to seek shelter on rooftops.
 |
Source: Google
|
The communities were completely inundated as a result of the terrible weather condition. Additionally, there were land slides nearby.
Five deaths have been reported by the Forl-Cesena prefect, according to Rai News.
Italy's civil protection agency warned that the most catastrophic event was likely to happen on Wednesday. Titti Postiglione, the agency's head, told SkyTG24 news that the rain will keep falling for "a few [more] hours."
"The situation we are in is very, very complicated."
Since there has been a lot of rain in Italy, Emilia-Romagna and some of the central the Marche region have been the hardest hit. At least 12 people died there last September as a result of the rains.
Social media was flooded with videos of the flood's destruction, including people being trapped on rooftops and cars being swept away by floodwater.
The town mayor of Faenza, Massimo Isola, remarked, "We experienced a night that we shall never forget. Such flooding has never occurred in our city; it is inconceivable.
Enzo Lattuca, the elected mayor of Cesena, said, "The situation is catastrophic, it's an impending disaster and the downpour has not yet stopped."
He reported that the Rivers Savio was beginning to swell once more on Wednesday morning.
Overnight, a bridge that connected Motta-Budrio and San Martino within the Bologna region collapsed. There is a nearby gas pipeline that also appears to be impacted, the Italian fire department advised, so "do not go near it."
Five thousand individuals have reportedly been relocated from the flood-affected districts.
Michele de Pascale, the acting mayor of Ravenna, said on Rai radio that "it is probably the most terrible night in the past of Romagna."
The Mugello valley's mountain communities on the the Romagna region side had been shut off by landslides, according to Florence's mayor, Dario Nardella.
Giorgia Meloni, the prime minister of Italy, wrote on social media that she felt "totally close to the affected population" and that the administration was closely " tracking the unfolding events".
According to Antonio Tajani, Deputy Prime Minister, the government will "do whatever to help those who were hit by the torrential downpours in Emilia-Romagna."
"From those displaced to the farming businesses that suffered losses of entire harvests," he continued.
"The volunteers and rescue teams are heroes. I offer prayers to the victims' families.
Italy has struggled with severe weather since it is one of the nations most susceptible to climate change. Two persons lost their lives as a result of heavy floods in early May that also hit Emilia-Romagna and portions of Marche.
Twelve people perished in a natural disaster on the tiny island of Ischia in November of last year.
Ispra, the Italian environmental organization, stated in a report from 2021 that "7,423 municipalities across the country, or 93.4% of the total, were at risk of flooding, landslides, and coastal erosion. The government hasn't done anything to reduce the risk, though.
Prior to the intense flooding, Emilia-Romagna and other northern Italian regions had a drought that killed the soil and decreased the ability to absorb water.
