Fourteen people have died so far and around 36,000 people have been evacuated due to floods in northern Italy that have left streets underwater.
Authorities on Friday said that 43 towns were impacted by flooding and landslides and more than 500 roads are closed or destroyed, cutting off access to some villages and leaving thousands with no electricity.
The damage is mostly located in the Emilia-Romagna region, which has been identified as the most at risk of flooding in the country. It experienced intense rain the last week and two weeks earlier after a prolonged drought that made water absorption into the ground difficult and caused rivers to overflow.
Premier Giorgia Meloni said Saturday she will leave Japan’s G7 summit a day early to attend to the growing emergency in the country. A national state of emergency is expected to be called next week as Italy’s cabinet meets Tuesday.
Deaths include a couple in their 70s whose bodies were found in their flooded apartment by their son after he had lost contact with them.
Some survivors have experienced dramatic rescues from their homes either by helicopter or dinghies. Many of those displaced by the floods have taken shelter in gymnasiums where cots have been set up.
“At some point they told us all to leave the area, and about one hour later we heard a loud boom,” 29-year-old Faenza resident Claudia said Thursday, describing the nearby Lamone river’s banks bursting.
“The water just flooded all over.”
Cars can be found submerged on city streets. Multiple billions of euros in losses are estimated in the region, including from ruined farmland and infrastructure.
— with files from The Associated Press and Reuters.
Comments