Floods in Italy leave nine dead and force 13,000 to leave their homes
More than 20 rivers have burst their banks in Italy, killing nine and forcing 13,000 from their homes after six months of rain fell in one and a half days.
Nearly all the rivers were inundated between the northeast coast of Rimini and the city of Bologna, 115 km (70 mi) away.
Some 280 landslides occurred and more evacuations were ordered overnight.
“It was a very bad 48 hours. Water and mud took over our entire town,” said Roberta Lazzarini, 71.
His house in Botteghino di Zocca, south of Bologna, was hit by a torrent on Wednesday. Streets, houses and gardens were flooded and Roberta said that she was still scared.
“I’ve never seen anything like this here. We were stuck and didn’t know what to do. I just hope it doesn’t happen again.”
Firefighters helped residents flee their homes, including a 97-year-old woman who had to leave her room in a rubber boat.
The historic center of Lugo, on the outskirts of Ravenna, was one of the cities with the worst flooding
“Our community is broken,” said Inés, Roberta’s daughter, who runs the local cafe in the central square. “We felt completely separated, isolated, some of us were really terrified.”
“We’ve had flooding before, but it’s never been this bad that I can remember,” said Lamieri, 74, as he cleared mud from his basement, where his son stores items to sell at his downtown souvenir shop. Bologna.
“The street turned into a river. We lost all our things that were stored here. We estimate thousands of euros in damage.”
Antonio Francesco Rizzuto, a 55-year-old lawyer who lives by the river with his wife, was forced to leave Tuesday night and now lives with his daughter in a nearby town.
“It was something that nobody expected in these proportions,” he said. “Before we left our house, the water level was rising by the minute. When we got back yesterday… our living room was completely submerged. We’ll have to throw out most of our furniture.”
This is one of the many flooded towns and cities in the province of Emilia-Romagna, not only from the rivers but also from the overflowing canals. More evacuations took place west of Ravenna on Thursday when the Lamone River burst its banks.
Stefano Bonaccini, regional president of the Emilia-Romagna region, said the costs of the damage ran into billions of euros.
Overnight, evacuations were ordered in towns west of Ravenna. Villanova residents were ordered to seek shelter on the upper floors, a day after floodwaters cascaded through the historic center of Lugo.
Lugo flooded again on Thursday, like Cervi, on the coast.
Rescue operations in the small town of Massa Lombarda, about 10 km from Imola
This weekend’s Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix at Imola was canceled due to the risk of flooding from the nearby Santerno river. Many of the areas around the track used for parking and watching the race were flooded Tuesday.
Further north, in Ferrara, a Bruce Springsteen rock concert was scheduled to take place on Thursday despite the regional disaster. Some 50,000 fans had reserved tickets for the sold-out concert.
There was some criticism of the decision to go ahead, with a local councillor, Anna Ferraresi, accusing local officials of proceeding despite the desperation of thousands of people in the region.
Many warn that Italy needs a national plan to respond to the effects of climate change.
Civil Protection Minister Nello Musumeci said tropical conditions had already reached Italy, with 20cm of rain falling in 36 hours and in some areas up to 50cm.
“Soils that remain dry for a long time end up cementing themselves, drastically limiting their water absorption capacity,” he said.
Regional dams had not been built for 40 years, he said, and a new approach to hydraulic engineering engineering was needed.
The government of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has called a crisis meeting next Tuesday.
In addition to the 23 rivers that overflowed, the Zena stream became a raging torrent at Botteghino di Zocca.
Lino Lenzi blames the authorities for not dredging the rivers in recent years
Lino Lenzi, 80, was standing in what used to be his daughter’s garden, which was now flooded with mud, his grandchildren’s toys submerged.
“I’ve lived here for 70 years and I’ve never seen anything like it,” he said, “water is everywhere.”
The house has been in the family for generations and their daughter had just finished renovating it.
Inside his kitchen the water reaches our ankles. The day before it was over 2 m (6.5 ft) tall.
“We have had to dispose of the water with everything we have: buckets, pots and pans.”
Lino complained that the local rivers had not been dredged for years.
“No one has come forward to help. We have received no help from the government or local authority.”
Rescue operations have been difficult as many roads have been flooded and many towns have been left without power.
The only help Lino got was from a teenager who lives nearby. “He came by and saw that we needed help. He helped us move our furniture.”
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