Floods in Italy
Entire villages have been swept away by muddy floods, bridges and 400 roads have collapsed
Emilia-Romagna, the rich region considered the “Garden of Italy”, is counting the massive damage caused by floods of rare intensity, in what is considered an indication of the transformation of the Mediterranean climate into a “tropical”, according to the authorities.
13 dead, afflicted towns, devastated crops.. All this while the level of about 20 rivers rose in the plains of this region, which has a population of 4.5 million people, which is famous for tourists in its historical cities such as Parma and Ravenna, and for its green landscapes, gastronomy and the coast of the Adriatic Sea.
Italy is witnessing a particularly rainy and cold month in May, but a real flood hit Emilia-Romagna in the past few days, flooding huge agricultural areas and destroying grain fields, orchards and livestock fodder markets. Entire villages were washed away by muddy floods, while bridges and 400 roads collapsed.
Floods in Italy
In a few hours, the equivalent of six months of rain fell. Damages are estimated at billions of euros, in addition to an estimated two billion euros after the floods that hit the region at the beginning of the month.
The damage in the fruit sector alone amounts to 1.2 billion euros, according to the agricultural association Coldiretti. On Thursday, the federation said that “five thousand farms have become submerged in water,” pointing to “nurseries and barns that have drowned their animals, in addition to tens of thousands of hectares of vineyards, and others planted with kiwi, apples, vegetables and grains.”
return and evacuation
Thirteen people died in the floods and more than ten thousand people were forced to leave their homes. Among the victims was a couple who were swept away by water while checking their lawns. The body of the 60-year-old woman was found on a beach 20 kilometers away, according to media reports.
The rain stopped on Wednesday afternoon. The Mayor of Ravinia, Michel de Pascal, indicated on Thursday that the residents of some of the evacuated towns can return to their homes, while others must evacuate their homes, due to the dams that threaten to collapse.
On Thursday, Stefano Bonacani, head of the Emilia-Romagna region, compared the scale and repercussions of the disaster to the earthquake that struck the region on May 20, 2012, causing material damage estimated at more than ten billion euros.
Floods in Italy
The Italian Armed Forces and the Coast Guard joined the emergency efforts, and helicopters and inflatable boats were deployed to reach homes surrounded by water. 26,000 people were without power Thursday.
“tropical weather”
For the authorities and experts, these exceptional disasters will become the norm. And the Minister of Civil Protection, Nilo Musumechi, warned on Wednesday that “nothing will be the same as before, because the tropical weather is now affecting Italy as well.”
Ironically, these torrential rains are hitting a country that is chronically affected by drought. However, it will not make it possible to reduce the water deficit associated with the scarcity of snow in the mountains and the average precipitation, the specialists warned.
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2023-05-18 19:05:00
