:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/elfinanciero/52JLZAB4BNA6BMZSC42WM2IPAI.jpg "“Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix Canceled Due to Deadly Flooding in Italy”")
The Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix, which was due to take place this weekend in northern Italy, was canceled on Wednesday due to deadly flooding in the area.
Formula 1 reported that it made the decision for security reasons and to avoid additional burdens for emergency services, after consultations with the Italian political authorities.
Drivers including Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen backed the move. The Ferrari team also supported the decision to cancel the race in their fiefdom.
If the Imola Grand Prix but it is reprogrammed, somewhat unlikely given the competition’s tight schedule, the season will feature 22 events, the same as last year, rather than setting a new record of 23.
Impact of heavy rains in Italy
At least five people have died from the floods and another 5,000 have been evacuated, while power supplies and cell phone networks have been severely affected.
Thousands of fans were expected to flock to the circuit on Friday for pre-race training sessions, adding more pressure to an already overcrowded transport system.
According to information from RTV Spain14 rivers overflowed in the region and there are 30 flooded municipalities. Citizens indicate that the fury of the storm is historic and so far there is a weather alert and school closures.
The overflow of the Santerno River surrounded the sports facilities with water, flooding several sections of roads near the track, as well as the parking lot and some grassy hills on which the stands for the public are installed.
The water, on the other hand, did not reach the circuit, although the personnel who worked finalizing the preparations before the great sporting event were evacuated. The boxes, commercial premises and the press room were also evicted.
The area now affected by torrential storms had suffered from drought for months. The rains are expected to continue for the next few days.
These are the areas of Italy that have been affected:
- Sicily.
- Lombardy.
- Veneto
- Lazio
- abruzzo
- Umbria.
- Tuscany.
- Basilicata.
- Calabria.
- Molise.
- Auplia.
With information from AP and EFE.
2023-05-18 00:48:20
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