The worst flooding to hit Italy in 100 years has left at least 13 people dead and around 20,000 homeless. Rescue workers have been operating under severe rain to save lives, including older and disabled people who have been trapped in their homes. Forty elderly people were saved from a care home overnight after police received calls from distressed relatives. Many other sick and elderly residents had to be airlifted from rooftops, while entire families have also been rescued. In total, an estimated 280 landslides have swept across the country, enveloping 41 towns and cities.
The recent flooding has caused widespread devastation to homes and shops and left over 5,000 farms underwater in the Emilia-Romagna region. Italy’s emergency services have been kept busy, undertaking over 2,000 rescue operations across the region and in parts of central Marche, also affected by the floods. The A1 and many other roads have remained blocked, with trains cancelled or delayed.
The flooding has affected everyone. An elderly couple perished inside their home in Cava, a hamlet in the province of Forlì-Cesena. An 80-year old man drowned in his cellar while retrieving his belongings, and farm owners Sauro Manuzzi and Marinella Maraldi were hit by the floods in the field opposite their home. The body of Maraldi (70), who was swept by the raging waters for 12 miles down a river, was later found on a beach on the Adriatic coast. A 76-year-old man was killed by a landslide in his garden, and another man died after falling into a well while attempting to pump water away from his property.
Volunteers and firefighters have emerged as heroes during the disaster. Volunteers have described heroically carrying people out of their homes to safety, while firefighters have rescued those trapped in homes or caught in the torrents of water. However, some were too late to save lives. After hearing the cries of an elderly couple trapped inside their home in Cava, a neighbour tried to help but was unable to get to them in time. He told Il Messaggero newspaper, “We tried to get them out, but it was useless.”
The floods have also affected parts of central Marche, but the situation in Cesena is reported to be improving slightly. However, many in the country remain concerned about the ongoing climate crisis, with flooding becoming more frequent. Pierluigi Randi, the president of Ampro, the association of weather experts, has told La Repubblica that “this is the climate crisis” and that officials needs to be more prepared in the face of growing climatic disasters. Before the floods, Emilia-Romagna and areas of northern Italy had already been suffering from a drought, which had made the land less able to absorb rainwater, exacerbating the crisis.
The recent disaster is a stark reminder of the significance of climate change and the impact it is having on our environment. As nations continue to suffer from similar natural disasters, it is important for everyone to take heed and work together to mitigate the effects of climate change.
