‘Catastrophic’ floods in Italy leave 8 dead and thousands homeless

Widespread flooding in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna killed at least eight people and forced another 5,000 to evacuate their homes, officials said Wednesday as rescue efforts continued to help those trapped on the top floors of buildings.

Nearly 20 inches of rain fell in 36 hours in some of the hardest-hit areas, about half the average annual amount, according to Italy’s civil protection minister, Nello Musumeci.

Taking those numbers into account, “you can understand how powerful this rainfall was,” he said.

Emilia-Romagna regional president Stefano Bonaccini said the rainfall was a “catastrophic event that has never been recorded before”. His deputy, Irene Priolo, said on Wednesday the death toll had risen to eight people.

Scenes of dramatic rescues from flood-stricken cities have dominated national news outlets for the past two days: helicopters airlifting residents from the roofs of submerged homes; rescuers wading through chest-high waters with elderly people on their backs; volunteers in dinghies transport residents from their homes as belongings floated out of open doors.

Schools were closed, trains in the region were canceled and roads and highways were closed as water inundated large areas of land, inundating fields and some towns.

Ms Priolo said at least 23 rivers in Emilia-Romagna – including the Savio, the Montone, the Santerno and the Lamone – had burst their banks, affecting some 36 towns. Local officials worked on it evacuate those in dangersaid a comment on the region’s website.

Paride Antolini, president of the geologist guild of Emilia-Romagna, called the rainfall – which averaged nearly eight inches in the region in less than 48 hours – “unprecedented.”

The rainfall in recent days followed a storm two weeks ago that had already saturated the area and damaged and eroded many riverbanks.

This week’s storm sparked dozens of landslides in hilly areas and severe flooding in the plains, while rough seas hit coastal areas of the region, Mr. Antolini. “Right now we’re facing millions of damages” to homes, agriculture, bridges and roads, he noted.

“There is a lot of work that needs to be done,” he added. “This has been a huge catastrophe.”

Flooding is a complex phenomenon with many causes, including land development and soil conditions, scientists say. While linking the climate crisis to a single flood requires extensive analysis, human-induced changes, which are already leading to heavier rainfall in many storms, are an increasingly important part of the mix. A warmer atmosphere holds more water and releases it, whether in the form of rain or heavy winter snow.

The record rainfall leading to devastating floods in Germany and Belgium in the summer of 2021 was made much more likely by global warming, scientists have determined. Climate change is also likely to have led to extreme rainfall during successive storms in Southeast Africa in early 2022, experts say, though a lack of high-quality weather data for the region has made it difficult to pinpoint how much.

Mr. Antolini of the geologist guild said extreme weather events, including heavy rainfall, were becoming more common in his region. “Scientific credentials say we are moving towards climate change, so it’s time to think about the actions we should be taking,” he said. “We have to learn from these situations.”

Mr Musumeci, the minister of civil protection, said the decision to evacuate thousands of people from flood areas was essentially “a preventative measure”.

During a radio interview, he added: “Clearly a much more careful exploration” had to be done on levees and hydraulic systems to deal with the recurrent impact of heavy downpours following long periods in recent years. of drought.

“Obviously we have to take a very different approach than we were used to,” he said.

A Formula 1 race that was to take place in the Emilia-Romagna region was canceled due to rain and flooding.

In a statement on Wednesday, the organizers said: “The decision has been made because it is not possible to keep the event safe for our fans, the teams and our staff and it is the right and responsible thing to do given the situation facing the cities and towns in the region.”

“It would not be right to put even more pressure on local authorities and emergency services at this difficult time,” the statement said.

Heavy rain fell in other parts of Italy on Wednesday. Officials in a small town near Florence, in central Italy, were considering plans to evacuate the population after landslides cut off access, Italian news agency ANSA reported.

On Tuesday, Venice, in northeastern Italy, activated its flood management systema series of gates, but the city has not been affected by the flood so far.

Officials had expected a flood of more than 43 inches, “but the wind changed, so we got less water than expected,” said Alvise Papa, director of the Venice Tide Prediction Center. High tides are rare in May, with only four recorded for the month since 1872, the last being in 2019.

Mr Papa said it was the 50th time the lock gates had been opened entered into force in 2020.

Mr Bonaccini, the president of the Emilia-Romagna region, said on Wednesday that officials were “doing everything possible to lend a hand to those in need and then of course restart as soon as circumstances allow”.

“Emilia-Romagna has been knocked down, but it will get back up,” he added.