Authorities in Italy’s Emilia-Romagna region reported on Wednesday that disastrous floods have killed at least three people and forced hundreds of others from their homes. They also issued a warning that things may become worse.
Titti Postiglione, the deputy director of the Civil Protection Agency, told the SkyTG24 news station that the rain would keep falling for a few hours. “The situation we are in is very, very complicated.”
According to authorities in Emilia-Romagna, three dead corpses and three missing individuals were recovered in the municipalities of Forli, Cesena, and Cesenatico.
In the area, fourteen rivers overflowed their banks, prompting residents of places like Cesena to scale the roofs of their houses in order to be evacuated by firemen using rubber dinghies or helicopters.
“Avoid going close to waterways. Stefano Bonaccini, the regional head, advised people to relocate to higher levels if they live near waterways.
The mayors of various towns and cities, including Bologna, asked citizens not to leave their homes as a number of highways and train routes were closed.
The Adriatic coast-adjacent city of Ravenna in the north also suffered greatly.
According to Ravenna Mayor Michele de Pascale, who spoke to RAI public radio, “It’s probably been the worst night in the history of Romagna,” 5,000 people were evacuated from his city alone throughout the course of the night.
“Ravenna has sustained such damage that it is no longer recognizable.”
Giorgia Meloni, the prime minister of Italy, said on Twitter that she felt “totally close to the affected population” and that the government was prepared to assist.
Emilia-Romagna has had harsh weather twice this month; at least two fatalities occurred during storms at the beginning of May.
Following many months of drought, the terrain dried up, diminishing its ability to absorb water and amplifying the severity of the floods, according to meteorologists.
