Premier Giorgia Meloni's cabinet on
Saturday declared a state of emergency in Emilia Romagna and
Marche after this week's devastating floods in the regions and
approved an initial allocation of 20 million euros in aid.
"The measure regards the provinces of Reggio Emilia, Modena,
Bologna, Ferrara, Ravenna, Forlì-Cesena and Rimini (in Emilia
Romagna) and the Marche Region," said Civil Protection Minister
Nello Musumeci,.
"Along with the state of emergency, which will last 12 months,
the cabinet has allocated 20 million euro to deal with the
initial urgent interventions, rescues and assistance to the
population and the restoration of the functionality of services
and infrastructure".
Many of the areas affected are the same ones hit by flooding and
landslides in May 2023 linked to unprecedented rainfall that
left 17 people dead and caused billions of euros of damage.
Scientists say the climate crisis caused by human greenhouse gas
emissions is making extreme weather events such as heatwaves,
droughts, supercharged storms and flooding more frequent and
more intense.
Although there are many sources of the greenhouse gases that are
causing global heating, the main driver is the burning of fossil
fuels such as oil, gas and coal, sales of which generate huge
profits for the world's energy giants.
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