Firefighters on Sunday found in the
area of Pianoro near Bologna the lifeless body of Simone
Farinelli, 20, who was reported missing overnight after his car
was washed away when the Zena rive broke its banks as the city
of Bologna and vast areas of Emilia Romagna were hit by floods.
The young victim, who had a hearing disability, was travelling
with his brother who was able to get out of the car engulfed in
water.
Almost all rivers in the region were above 'alert level 3' on
Sunday as torrential rain created a "worse situation than in May
2023",
said Interim Governor Irene Priolo, when Emilia Romagna was hit
by flooding and landslides linked to unprecedented rainfall that
left 17 people dead and caused billions of euros of damage.
At least 3,000 people were evacuated between Saturday and Sunday
in Emilia Romagna either because their homes were unsafe or as a
precautionary measure, according to a provisional figure
provided by authorities on Sunday afternoon.
Over 2,100 were evacuated in the province of Bologna, with an
additional 1,000 people forced to leave their homes in
Cadelbosco near Reggio Emilia, preliminary data said.
An extreme weather 'red alert' was extended until Monday in the
region.
In total, 13 municipalities were in a "critical situation",
including all of Bologna, Reggio Emilia and Modena, after "175
millimetres of water fell in just a few hours", said Priolo.
The interim governor said in particular that Bologna was hit by
an "avalanche of water" after torrential rain pummelled the area
and led the Ravone stream to break its banks.
Amid torrential rain that hit the surrounding hills of the
city over the previous days, the "saturation of the soil"
created a "sort of avalanche of water" and when the Ravone broke
its banks "roads became streams", said Priolo.
In the night between Saturday and Sunday, Ravenna, Modena and
Reggio Emilia were hit by floods with heavy rainfall also making
the situation critical on all roads of the Apennines.
In particular, the town of Bagnocavallo, near Ravenna, already
hit by previous floods, including last month, was entirely
evacuated.
Priolo on Sunday urged residents to follow mayors' instructions,
sheltering in place on the top floors of residential buildings
close to rivers.
Bologna Mayor Matteo Lepore urged locals not to go out or use
cars and for residents of buildings close to the Ravone stream,
which broke its banks on Saturday night, to stay on the top
floors of buildings.
"More than 80 millimetres of rain have fallen in four hours:
don't go out and don't use your cars", Lepore wrote on social
media.
Overall, firefighters had carried out over 500 rescue operations
in Emilia-Romagna as of Sunday afternoon with the most critical
situations reported in the province of Bologna, as well as in
areas including Forlì and Reggio Emilia.
Meanwhile, all of Italy, from North to South, was pummelled by
heavy rain and storms, in particular Sicily which had been
gripped by a severe drought for months.
In Licata, near the city of Agrigento, the Salso river broke its
banks in several areas and residents had to abandon their homes.
Catania's roads also turned into rivers due to the torrential
rain that hit the city on Saturday.
And intense rain also pummelled Veneto and the Marche with an
'orange' bad weather alert level on Sunday affecting parts of
Calabria, large portions of Veneto and Basilicata and the
south-eastern area of Lombardy and 13 other regions on a less
severe 'yellow' alert.
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