Interim Governor Irene Priolo was
named Emilia-Romagna's commissioner for the emergency caused by
this week's devastating floods in the northeastern region on
Sunday via an order signed by Civil Protection Department Chief
Fabio Ciciliano.
On Saturday Premier Giorgia Meloni's cabinet declared a state of
emergency in Emilia Romagna and Marche following the extreme
weather and approved an initial allocation of 20 million euros
in aid for the former and four million for the latter.
On Saturday Priolo stressed that this funding was not sufficient
and could only be a "starting point," saying it would take weeks
to have an idea of the extent of the reconstruction work.
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.
The central government put its own commissioner in charge of the
reconstruction on that occasion, rather that former governor
Stefano Bonaccini, who recently stepped down after being elected
to the European Parliament.
Bonaccini's deputy Priolo has taken the helm of the region until
elections in two months' time.
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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