![]() “There was still sunshine at that point and many people didn’t think it would happen,” he said. But he had trouble convincing some people to leave their homes, particularly those living in hillside hamlets. Weather-related disasters have been on the rise in Italy, a country deemed particularly vulnerable to the climate crisis.Įnzo Lattuca, the mayor of Cesena, said people in the area were given a warning 24 hours before the storms. More than 305 landslides were caused by the latest floods, which in turn either damaged or closed off 500 roads. ![]() The floods were preceded by a drought that had dried out the land, reducing its capacity to absorb water. Just two weeks ago, the area was hit by intense storms that killed two people. Six months’ worth of rain fell within 36 hours across Emilia-Romagna, one of Italy’s most important agricultural regions. ![]() My parents are devastated … but then we also feel lucky as so many are worse off than us.” “I tried to pump the water away for nine hours straight before the rescuers came. “Over 2.5 metres of water flooded our home,” he added. Lorenzo Camagni, 25, said he had not slept in three nights. Mountains of furniture lined a street in Ronta as volunteers formed a human chain to lift buckets of flood water from an apartment building. Rescuers, who have been joined by thousands of volunteers, many of them young people who travelled from across Italy, are working relentlessly to clean mud and debris from the streets, or bring food and clothing to people living in shelters and isolated areas. But then afterwards, the depression will probably come.” “We are in a daze … at the moment we just feel fortunate to be here, and are boosted by the solidarity. “It hasn’t quite hit us yet,” said Marina, whose only salvaged item of clothing was her wedding dress. Marina and her husband, whose home is uninhabitable, are among those staying with Casadei. Most of those left homeless have been put up by family or friends, while others are staying in hotels or temporary shelters. None of us have experienced such disastrous flooding like this before – there are some people here who are close to age 100 who say they have never seen anything of the kind.” “Marinella and I gave birth around the same time,” said Casadei. Maraldi’s husband, Sauro Manuzzi, also died, reportedly as they tried to save their farm animals, leaving behind their only daughter. ![]() ![]() One of her neighbours who died was Marinella Maraldi, whose body was swept 12 miles (19km) down the Savio River before being found in Cesenatico, a beach along the Adriatic coast. “Frankly, I cannot remain so far from Italy in such a complex moment,” said Meloni, who visited some of the flooded areas on Sunday afternoon and pledged support to help the recovery.Ĭasadei’s home was among the cluster that rescuers were unable to reach until Saturday, first because of strong winds that prevented dinghies from arriving and then because of a landslide that snapped a nearby road in two. A helicopter that had been attempting to restore electricity to homes crashed close to the badly affected town of Lugo on Saturday, injuring one of the four people onboard. The emergency, which wreaked havoc across 100 cities and towns – many still under water – prompted the prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, to return early from the G7 summit in Japan. “But my neighbours’ home was destroyed, so they are now staying with us – there are eight of us living together, and five dogs.”Įmilia-Romagna remained on red alert on Sunday after catastrophic flooding that claimed 14 lives and left more than 36,000 people homeless. “The water only came as far as our garden,” said the 61-year-old. Standing outside her home under moody skies in Ronta, a hamlet in the Forlì-Cesena area of Emilia-Romagna, Ivana Casadei considers herself one of the lucky ones. EURACTIV’s media partner, The Guardian, reports. Emilia-Romagna is still on alert, with 36,000 people homeless after six months’ worth of rain fell in 36 hours last week. ![]()
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