Devastating rains hit Emilia-Romagna, Italy
The region of Emilia-Romagna in Italy has been hit by devastating rains causing whole cities to flood and resulting in nine deaths, according to official reports. The fire department had to evacuate thousands of people from their homes. The government points to climate change as the root cause.
Dramatic rescue operations
Firefighters can be seen wading through flooded streets in Cesena, pushing a rubber boat in front of them. When someone calls for help from inside a house, they smash a window to rescue a man from his flooded apartment. These are dramatic images from one of the many hundred rescue operations by the fire department in the Emilia-Romagna holiday region. According to the deputy regional president, Irene Priolo, over 13,000 people were evacuated from their homes due to the threat of water and mudslides. Ravenna was one of the hardest-hit cities, along with Cesena, Forlì, Faenza, and the regional capital Bologna.
Hydrologic system overburdened
The rainfall overwhelmed the hydrological systems and caused devastation in many cities. Ravenna’s mayor, Michele De Pascale, reported the first houses were evacuated in the night, calling it “perhaps the worst night in the recent history of Emilia-Romagna.” Due to the vast amounts of water, many parts of his province are unrecognizable.
Critical situation in Tuscany
The coast towns of Rimini, Riccione, and Cervia and other locations also saw flooding. The fire department used helicopters to lift people from their roofs where they had sought refuge from the floodwaters. At least nine people have died. The situation is also critical in Tuscany due to the heavy rainfall, Antonio Mazzeo, speaker of the regional parliament, warned.
Climate change and urbanization
Nello Musumeci, Italy’s civil protection minister, blamed climate change for causing the severe weather and flooding. According to him, massive amounts of water that should have been distributed in six months fall within 24 or 48 hours, overburdening hydraulic systems. Marco Casini, general secretary of the central Apennine water board, partly agrees, saying urbanizing too close to rivers in recent decades contributed to the catastrophe. The engineer explained that the cities had limited the rivers’ runoff areas, so when they overflowed, humans were affected more severely. Additionally, the extreme dryness over the past few months played a part. With no rain, the soil becomes like asphalt and forces water to flow into rivers and canals instead of natural absorption.
Hopeful forecasts
Over the weekend, the planned Formula 1 racing in Imola had to be canceled due to the weather in Emilia-Romagna. The racecourse’s drivers’ camps were likewise underwater. Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc called for donations for the affected regions via Instagram. The authorities advised against using the Adria highway between Bologna and Rimini due to the storm, and train traffic between Bologna and Ancona was briefly suspended. Hopeful forecasts from meteorologists predict gradual weather improvements in the Emilia-Romagna region in the coming hours.