- After the dramatic floods caused by heavy rains in the Italian region of Emilia-Romagna, there is still no all-clear.
- The highest red alert level will also apply on Monday in parts of this area on the Adriatic coast, according to civil defense.
- According to the authorities, more than 36,600 people had to leave their homes.
The rain has weakened and clean-up work was underway, but geologists are now warning of the danger of landslides in particular. The Ansa news agency quoted the geologist Paride Antolini as saying that many roads had completely disappeared and would have to be completely rebuilt.
Cleanup efforts are underway in the affected areas. There, the helpers reveal serious damage. These amounted to a few billion euros, said the Vice President of Emilia-Romagna, Irene Priolo. In some places you have to “completely rebuild the road network”.
Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni visited the affected areas on Sunday afternoon. As seen in a video circulating on social media, she visited Forlì and places in the province of Ravenna with a small delegation. In rubber boots, she spoke to citizens on the street. The government is now called upon to act immediately to support the region. Meloni was moved: “It’s a tragedy.”
Meloni had left the G7 summit in Hiroshima, Japan, early to observe developments from Italy.
At least 14 people have died as a result of the floods and landslides. Thousands had to be evacuated. The storms caused severe damage in the region. Entire fields and streets are flooded or are now blocked by huge masses of mud.
Because of the landslides, many houses and farms are also isolated. Since the beginning of the storm, the Italian fire brigade has been deployed to almost 4000 missions, as it was said on Sunday morning. Most of the missions were therefore in the areas around Bologna, Ravenna, Forlì-Cesena and Rimini.
A helicopter also crashed in the province of Ravenna. Four people were inside – one of them was injured, according to the Italian fire brigade. The crash in the municipality of Lugo happened when the crew was on duty to inspect power lines damaged by storms, the Ansa news agency reported.