Italy floods: Death toll rises to at least 13, tens of thousands of people displaced

At least 13people have died and thousands of others have been displaced after a devastating flood in Italy’s northern Emilia-Romagna region, local authorities said on Thursday (May 18). This comes after over 20 rivers have burst their banks and the amount of rain, which typically falls in six months, fell in a day and a half.

The death toll rose as rescue workers continued to search for anyone still trapped by floodwaters in the Italian region after downpours devastated homes and farms. The victims included two farmers in their 70s who might have been electrocuted while trying to move a fridge inside a flooded house, reported AFP, citing Italian media reports.

The damage caused

Media reports citing officials have said that some 300 landslides have taken place and over 10,000 have been displaced. As of early Thursday, some 400 roads were also damaged or destroyed while the floods have affected 42 municipalities.

Speaking to reporters, Emilia-Romagna President Stefano Bonaccini, said, “We are facing a new earthquake,” referring to the seismic events that struck the region in 2012, destroying thousands of homes, and how since then almost everything was rebuilt. He added that we have seen that it can be done and “we will rebuild everything again, I am sure of that.”

Locals were seen waddling through dirty waters while officials have managed to partly restore electricity even as 27,000 people remain in the dark. The Coldiretti agricultural association said that more than 5,000 farms drowned including the so-called “Fruit Valley” as well as corn and grain fields.

Evacuations and rescues

Authorities in Ravenna issued an immediate evacuation order early Thursday morning for three more villages threatened by floods.

The mayor of Ravenna, Michele De Pascale, announced on Thursday that residents of about a half dozen towns could return and warned them “to exercise the utmost caution,” adding that cracks in the river embankments still posed a risk to other areas.

Among those killed was a couple in Ronta di Cesena believed to have been hit by a wall of water as they went to check on their aromatic herb farm, reported AFP.

Furthermore, evacuations were ordered in towns to the west of Ravenna overnight while residents in Villanova were ordered to seek shelter on upper floors. The Italian coastguard also rescued two elderly people who took refuge on the roof of their flooded house in Faenza.

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While there was significantly less rainfall on Thursday with light rain expected Friday, authorities continue to remain on high alert. “When we have six months of rain in 36 hours, falling where there had already been record rain two weeks ago, there is no territory that can hold out,” Bonaccini had said late Wednesday.

(With inputs from agencies)

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