The flood emergency continues in Emilia Romagna with the incessant rains, vast areas under water and the continuous landslides that are bringing the Apennines to their knees. The number of displaced persons rises to more than 36,600, most of them in the Ravenna area. A helicopter that was checking the power lines for Enel crashed, 4 were injured, two of which were in serious condition. The premier Giorgia Meloni anticipates his return to Italy from the G7 meeting in Hiroshima: “my conscience requires me to return”.
The Prime Minister is flying to Emilia Romagna, where it is expected around lunchtime for an inspection of the areas affected by the bad weather. The Italian state aircraft, which took off in the night from Hiroshima in advance of the closing of the G7 summit, made a stopover in Kazakhstan and is now headed for Italy.
THE LIVE BLOG
9.35 It continued to rain throughout the night in many areas of Piedmont and this morning the Po river exceeded the danger level, in Carignano and Villafranca, in the Turin area. The most abundant rainfall in the Cuneo area: the Arpa weather station in Barge recorded over 300 millimeters of rain in three days.
9.15 There are about 180 people displaced by the floods who are currently hosted in the 4 hubs made available by the Municipality of Ravenna.
9.10 Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is flying to Emilia Romagna, where she is expected around lunchtime for an inspection in the areas affected by bad weather. The Italian state aircraft, which took off in the night from Hiroshima in advance of the closing of the G7 summit, made a stopover in Kazakhstan and is now headed for Italy.
9.08 There are two investigations into the helicopter that crashed yesterday morning in Belricetto di Lugo, in the Ravenna area, between a flooded field and a road covered in mud. One – as reported by the two local newspapers – was launched by ENAC, the national body for civil aviation. And the other was opened by the prosecutor Angela Scorza who ordered the seizure of the wreck. Two hypotheses of crime under consideration: culpable injuries and aviation disaster, in the first instance against unknown persons
9.06 The “Adriatica” state road 16 is temporarily closed to traffic, in both directions, between km 171 and km 173, in Cervia, in the province of Ravenna.
9.04 Almost 4,000 interventions were carried out by firefighters in Emilia Romagna. There are 1,121 men involved in rescue operations
8.41 At 8 am on the A14 Bologna-Taranto the stretch between Faenza and Forlì was reopened, making three lanes towards Ancona and two lanes towards Bologna available to traffic.
ANSA agency
In Bologna the press conference of Salvini and Piantedosi. “The Imola GP could be recovered in 2026” says the deputy prime minister. The Minister of the Interior: ‘To date there have been no major episodes of looting, the problem will now come with the withdrawal of water’ (ANSA)
The alarm of geologists
A “desperate situation” in a vast territory on the hills in Emilia Romagna, which goes from Bologna to Cesena almost up to Rimini as a result of the “landlide bombing” after the flood. To tell ANSA is the regional president of the Order of Geologists, Paride Antolini. “We have always had an excellent mapping of the existing landslides but, now, the increase in phenomena in recent days has distorted the cartography and we are also recording events in unforeseen areas”, explains Antolini, speaking of “many roads that have completely disappeared and will never be not even repairable, with a track that needs to be completely redone”. Furthermore, many houses are isolated and also the farms. “The Apennines, with soft rocks, have shown all their fragility – continues the expert – in the hills of Cesenate the situation is difficult. I believe that in the most affected municipalities it will be difficult to predict travel throughout this summer”. A situation, he continues, “that in my 63 years I could never have imagined seeing or experiencing. This – says Antolini – is too much even for a geologist. Here it is a disaster”.
Bad weather in Emilia Romagna, road of Passo del Carnaio destroyed