Video: 11 Dead, 20,000 Homeless After Worst Flooding in Italy in a Century
16:27 GMT 18.05.2023 (Updated: 16:47 GMT 18.05.2023)
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Central Italy is reeling after days of pounding rain caused the worst flooding the region has seen in more than 100 years. The raging waters have claimed several lives and destroyed thousands of homes.
The rains began earlier this week but intensified on Wednesday, causing 23 rivers to burst their banks in the Emilia-Romagna region and parts of neighboring Marche. According to authorities, some 280 landslides have been reported, with the floods and landslides together affecting 41 cities and towns.
Italian Civil Protection Minister Nello Musumeci told reporters that an average of 200 millimeters (7.9 inches) of rain had fallen in just 36 hours across the region, with localized concentrations reaching 500 millimeters (19.7 inches) in that time.
The moment a landslide struck in the province of Forlì-Cesena, part of Italy’s #EmiliaRomagna region devastated by floods. pic.twitter.com/E9kPlcNX16
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“If you consider that this region averages 1,000 millimeters (39.3 inches) of rain in a year, you realize the impact that these rains have had in these hours,” Musumeci said.
He also called for a new nationwide hydraulic engineering plan in response to the rise in floods and landslides in recent years.
Floods in Italy's Emilia-Romagna region. pic.twitter.com/xFHqWLWmoP
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An estimated 20,000 people have been left homeless by the disaster, and so far 11 deaths have been confirmed, most of them elderly people who could not escape the rising flood waters. Firefighters have carried out some 2,000 rescue operations across the two states.
The floods have affected historic cities such as Ravenna, which was once the capital of the Western Roman Empire, and Castel Bolognese, the latter of which suffered a major flood just weeks ago.
“Two weeks ago we had a flood and we were left to believe it happens once every 100 years,″ Luca Della Godenza, the town’s mayor, told reporters.
Massive floods and landslides after heavy rains in Emilia-Romagna region, Italy 🇮🇹
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The destruction has caused the cancellation of a major Formula One car race, the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix, which was scheduled to happen this weekend.
However, the destruction isn't limited to Italy: the same storms also crossed the Adriatic Sea, bringing torrential rains to the Balkans as well. Amin Halitovic, the mayor of the Bosnian town of Bosanska Krupa, told local media: "We have an apocalypse. We can no longer count the flooded buildings. It's never been like this."
