Emilia Romagna Governor Stefano
Bonaccini said Wednesday that he will ask central government to
declare a state of emergency in the northeastern region after it
was hit by a wave of extreme weather that has claimed at least
two lives.
"We are already at work to request the declaration of a national
state of emergency," said Bonaccini,, adding that he had spoken
to Premier Giorgia Meloni about the situation.
"We will do whatever it takes to guarantee assistance and
support to the people affected, for the damage and consequences
of the bad weather that has hit our region.
"We have witnessed a wave of bad weather that has no historical
precedent in terms of the rain that has fallen uninterruptedly
in 48 hours".
A man in his 80s drowned on Wednesday after being swept away by
flood waters while riding his bicycle in Castel Bolognese, in
the province of Ravenna, sources said on Wednesday.
The man is thought to have been riding on a road that was closed
off to traffic due to the risk of flooding, the sources said.
Firefighters said Wednesday that a dead body had been found in
the rubble of a house that collapsed in Fontanelice, near
Bologna, due to the extreme weather, while another person is
said to be missing.
"We are particularly concerned about the (Bologna) metropolitan
area," said Bologna Mayor Matteo Lepore.
"The amount of rain that has fallen is very high, we have to be
very careful"..
Over 250 people had to be evacuated from their homes in the
region overnight due to the floods.
The Army has been called in to help firefighters, who conducted
400 interventions in the region overnight, and the
civil-protection department in the operations.
The evacuations regarded the province of Ravenna, with around
100 people affected in the Faenza area, another 100 around
Biancanigo di Castel Bolognese and some 60 people residing in
Conselice.
Premier Giorgia Meloni on Wednesday expressed solidarity with
the people affected by the wave of extreme weather
In a statement, Meloni said she was following the situation and
was in "constant contact with the authorities" saying she had
called Civil Protection Minister Nello Musumeci, Emilia Romagna
Governor Stefano Bonaccini and Civil Protection Department Chief
Fabrizio Curcio.
The torrential rain caused some rivers to reach dangerous levels
and rail operator FS had to suspend several services - between
Faenza and Forlì, Russi and Lugo, Russi and Granarolo, and
Lavezzola and Mezzano.
Many roads were closed too in the provinces of Bologna and
Ravenna due to flooding and landslides caused by the rain,
leading to major traffic jams.
Experts said intense bouts of rainfall like this one will do
little to alleviate the water shortage that northern Italy is
experiencing after a prolonged period of low precipitation
levels.
Scientists say that extreme weather events like heat waves,
supercharged storms, flooding and droughts are becoming more
frequent and more intense because of climate change caused by
human greenhouse-gas emissions.
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