Floods show new approach needed - Musumeci

(see related) (ANSA) - ROME, MAY 17 - Civil Protection Minister Nello Musumeci said the deadly floods that have hit Emilia Romagna and other recent disasters linked to extreme weather, such as last year's landslide on the Gulf of Naples island of Ischia that claimed 12 lives, show the need to take a new approach to adapt to the effects of climate change.
    "We need a new approach regarding the water system throughout the country," he said.
    "What happened in Emilia Romagna had already happened in Ischia and could happen in any other area of the country.
    "While we conceived the rainwater distribution network of a town capable of absorbing 1,000 mm in 12 months, we must now envision a water-collection system that will have to absorb 500 mm in 48 hours.
    "We need a different engineering approach, nothing will be the same as before, tropicalization has come to Italy.
    "We are ready to prepare a national plan to deal with heavy rains and long periods of drought, because we need to rethink how we manage the territory.
    "We will work with the other ministries and it will be possible to implement it within eight months to a year". (ANSA).