More than twenty rivers in Italy have overflowed their banks, killing nine people and displacing 13,000 after six months of precipitation fell in one day.
Between the north-eastern coast at Rimini and the city of Bologna, 115 kilometres (70 miles) away, nearly every watercourse flooded.
Overnight, approximately 280 fissures occurred and additional evacuations were ordered.
It was a very difficult 48 hours. Roberta Lazzarini, 71, stated that water and sludge engulfed the entire town.
On Wednesday, her residence in Botteghino di Zocca, south of Bologna, was flooded. Roberta stated that she was still terrified despite the fact that streets, houses, and gardens were flooded.
“I’ve never witnessed anything similar here. We were helpless and unsure of what to do. I just pray it doesn’t happen again.”
Residents, including a 97-year-old woman who had to exit her bedroom in a rubber dinghy, were assisted by firefighters in evacuating their homes.
“Our community is broken,” stated Ines, the daughter of Roberta and proprietor of the local cafe in the central square. Some of us felt utterly cut off and alone, and we were horrified.
“We’ve had floods before, but never this bad,” said Lamieri, 74, as he removed mud from his cellar, where his son stores merchandise for the souvenir shop he operates in the centre of Bologna.
“The street became a river. We lost everything that was stashed in this basement. We estimate damage to be in the thousands of euros.”
Antonio Francesco Rizzuto, a 55-year-old attorney who resides with his wife by the river, was evicted on Tuesday night and is currently staying with his daughter in a nearby village.
“No one anticipated something of these proportions,” he said. “Before we departed the house, the water was rising by the minute. Yesterday, when we returned home, our living room was completely submerged. We must dispose of the majority of our furniture.”
This is one of many cities and villages in the province of Emilia-Romagna that have been flooded, not only by rivers but also by canals that have overflowed. Thursday saw additional evacuations west of Ravenna due to the flooding of the Lamone river.
Emilia-Romagna’s regional president, Stefano Bonaccini, estimated that the destruction cost billions of euros.
Overnight, communities west of Ravenna were ordered to evacuate. A day after floodwaters swept through the historic district of Lugo, residents of Villanova were told to seek refuge on upper floors.
Thursday saw the return of flooding to Lugo and Cervi on the coast.
This weekend’s Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix at Imola was cancelled due to the possibility of flooding along the adjacent Santerno river. Tuesday’s precipitation soaked a majority of the parking and spectator areas surrounding the racecourse.
Despite the regional catastrophe, a Bruce Springsteen concert was scheduled for Thursday in Ferrara, further north. Approximately 50,000 people had purchased tickets for the sold-out concert.
Anna Ferraresi, a local councillor, accused local officials of proceeding regardless of the desperation of thousands of people in the region, which was criticised by some.
Numerous individuals warn that Italy requires a national plan to address the effects of climate change.
Minister of Civil Protection Nello Musumeci stated that tropical conditions had already arrived in Italy, with 20 cm of rain falling in 36 hours and up to 50 centimetres in some areas.
“Long-term drought causes soils to become cement-like, drastically reducing their ability to absorb water,” he explained.
It had been forty years since regional dams were constructed, he said, and a new approach to hydraulic engineering engineering was required.
The government of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has scheduled a crisis meeting for next Tuesday.
In addition to the 23 rivers that overflowed their banks, the Zena stream in Botteghino di Zocca became a raging deluge.
Lino Lenzi, age 80, was standing in his daughter’s former garden, which was now flooded with dirt and filled with his grandchildren’s toys.
“I’ve lived here for seventy years and I’ve never witnessed anything like this,” he said, “water is everywhere.”
The residence had been in the family for generations, and his daughter had recently completed the renovations.
In his kitchen, the water reaches our ankles. The day before, it was over 2 metres (6.5 feet) tall.
We had to get rid of the water using everything we had, including containers, pots, and pans.
Lino lamented that the local rivers hadn’t been dredged in years.
“No one has arrived to assist. We’ve received no assistance from the government or local government,”
It has been difficult to conduct rescue operations because so many roads have been flooded and so many communities have lost power.
The only assistance Lino received was from a local adolescent lad. “He passed by and saw that we required assistance. He assisted us in moving the furnishings.”
