Civil Protection Minister Nilo Musumechi said that in just 36 hours, some areas were exposed to the equivalent of half the annual average rainfall, causing rivers to overflow, runoff water in cities and the drowning of thousands of hectares of agricultural land.
Sunday’s Formula 1 Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix in Imola, close to most of the hardest hit areas, has been canceled in a bid to reduce pressure on emergency services and prevent Motor racing fans flock to the flooded area.
Reuters quoted Stefano Bonacini, mayor of the Emilia-Romagna region: “We are facing catastrophic events that we have almost never seen before (…) Unusually large amounts of heavy rain fell on land who could no longer absorb them.”
The coastal city of Ravenna on the Adriatic Sea, famous for its Christian sites, was badly damaged.
A local interior ministry official said 14,000 people should be evacuated from the area as soon as possible.
According to authorities, the flood swept through 37 cities and towns and about 120 landslides were recorded. At least one bridge collapsed near the city of Bologna, some roads cracked and many rail services were suspended.
Floods after months of drought This is the second time the Emilia-Romagna region has experienced bad weather this month, with at least two people killed in storms in early May.
Meteorologists said heavy rains fell in areas that had been dry for months, reducing the soil’s ability to absorb water and exacerbating the impact of flooding.
Reuters quoted Formula 1 race organizers as saying the decision to cancel the race “is due to the inability to hold it safely for fans, teams and employees”.
“It’s probably the worst night in the history of (region) Romania,” Michele de Pascal, mayor of Ravenna, told Italian TV channel RAI, adding that authorities had only evacuated 5,000 people. of this city at night.
For his part, Minister Musumichi said between 200 and 500 millimeters of rain fell in parts of the region in a day and a half, against an average annual precipitation of 1,000 millimeters.
Read the Latest World News Today on The Eastern Herald.
