“Area bombed” – heavy damage was cordoned off in Emilia-Romagna, Po in Turin
Storms battered Italy from Piedmont to Calabria. Nearly 100 villages were destroyed in Emilia-Romagna. New storms are on the horizon.
People cleaning in Faenza, Emilia-Romagna. (May 19, 2023)
Photo: Keystone
Yet sometimes dramatic floods as a result Heavy rains in the Italian Adriatic region, Emilia-Romagna More and more serious damage was revealed during the clean-up work. Emilia-Romagna Vice President Irene Priollo told reporters on Saturday that the damage caused by the storm and landslides amounted to several billion euros. In some places you have to “rebuild the entire road network.” More landslides will make things worse.
In some places, says the vice-president of Emilia-Romagna, the entire road network will have to be rebuilt.
Photo: Keystone
The number of communities affected by storm damage in the past few days is now close to 100. “The area has been bombed,” Priollo said. A video showing an injured woman goes viral on social media in Italy. Standing in a street clogged with mud, she recounts, crying, how she lost her home due to heavy flooding. “We will never get out of this tragedy, it’s a disaster. How can you not have a home?”
Heavy rains made things difficult for the people in northern Italy.
Video: Tamedia
Meanwhile, other Italian regions were also affected by the storms. The Calabria region in the south of the Mediterranean country has to struggle with particularly strong winds. And in the city of Reggio Calabria, a man was killed by a falling tree, according to the fire department. According to their own data, firefighters have also deployed about 100 missions in Sicily – mostly to secure unstable trees after strong winds or to repair water damage.
There is also some heavy rain in the northern Italian region of Piedmont. An orange alert has been declared there. Images in the capital, Turin, for example, show how barriers were put in place to restrict access to the Po River as a precaution.
The rescue helicopter has crashed
In Emilia-Romagna, located in northeastern Italy, it rained as much rain on Tuesday and Wednesday as it has in half a year. Many rivers overflowed their banks, and fields, streets and houses were flooded at breakneck speed. At least 14 people have been killed as of Saturday.
The floods caused more than 305 landslides and damaged or closed more than 500 roads in the region. Bologna’s mayor, Matteo Lepore, said on Saturday that repairing roads and infrastructure would take “months, and in some places possibly years.”
Authorities in Ravenna ordered the immediate evacuation of other threatened towns on Saturday. According to the fire brigade, a helicopter that was used to restore electricity has crashed near the municipality of Lugo. One of the four people on board was injured.
SDA/Prime
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