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Emilia-Romagna Flooding in Emilia Romagna

Pauline

Forums Admin
The New York Times has an article about the flooding in Emilia Romagna. I missed this until now. Looks like a horrible situation.

New York Times: ‘Catastrophic’ Floods in Italy Leave 8 Dead and Thousands Homeless
Intense downpours caused rivers to overflow in the northern region of Emilia-Romagna, swamping numerous cities in a catastrophe that experts described as “unprecedented.”

From the article: Widespread flooding in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna killed at least eight people and forced another 5,000 to abandon their homes, officials said on Wednesday as rescue efforts continued to assist those stuck on the upper stories of buildings.

Some of the worst-hit areas received almost 20 inches of rain in 36 hours, about half the average annual amount, according to the Italian civil protection minister, Nello Musumeci.

Taking into account those figures, “you can understand how powerful this rainfall was,” he said.

Stefano Bonaccini, regional president of Emilia-Romagna, said that the rainfall had been a “catastrophic event that has never been registered before.” His deputy, Irene Priolo, said on Wednesday that the death toll had risen to eight people.

Scenes of dramatic rescues from flood-struck towns have dominated national news broadcasts over the past two days: helicopters airlifting residents from the roofs of homes submerged in water; rescue workers wading through chest-high waters carrying older people on their backs; volunteers in rubber dinghies transporting residents from their homes as belongings floated from open doors.

 
I got to know a really nice young fellow from Italy a few months ago, he helped me for a few days with my farm work. His hometown is Faenza, and yesterday he sent me a link to an aerial video of what the flooding looks like there. He said that the "town had become Venice", and he wasn't exaggerating. Unbelievable how extensive the flooding was :
 
I got to know a really nice young fellow from Italy a few months ago, he helped me for a few days with my farm work. His hometown is Faenza, and yesterday he sent me a link to an aerial video of what the flooding looks like there. He said that the "town had become Venice", and he wasn't exaggerating. Unbelievable how extensive the flooding was :
Friends just went to the Springsteen concert in Parco Urbano, MUD PIT!
 
Has anyone seen reports of the situation in the historical center of Ravenna?
Looks like there has been a tremendous effort to try and prevent the floods reaching the historical center - earth and inflatable dams put up, especially at the western entrance to the city. Haven't seen aerial photos of this place specifically (indeed strange...), but it seems that the area that has been evacuated does not include the centro storico :

The evacuations are extended​

Meanwhile, the channels continue to swell and the inhabitants of Ravenna take refuge on the roofs. Who remained, given that over 16% of the municipal area was evacuated: the worsening water levels of the Canala canal forced the Municipality to order, as a precaution, the extension of total and immediate evacuations to the extra-urban area to the north of via Romea delimited to the east by the Romea, to the north by via Fiumetto and to the west by via Reale up to and including via Bagarina. An area of considerable size, considering that Ravenna is the second largest municipality in Italy by extension, preceded only by Rome. «They have been fielded – he told the microphones of the Tgrthe mayor of Ravenna Michele de Pascale – many hydraulic actions to avoid the flooding of the whole city, some worked, some didn't, so even today we had to widen the evacuation zones». Two out of ten Ravenna residents - for a total of over 27,000 people - were forced to leave their homes. In fact, today could be the worst day for the Romagna city where there are already shortages of drinking water and food due to the floods that have brought the region to its knees for days.

I'd try and see if the municipality (Comune di Ravenna) has an Instagram page - I don't have an account there, so can't check.
 
Ravenna centre was saved from the flooding due to farmers intentionally allowing their land to be flooded.
This is Google translate of this article: https://www.tgcom24.mediaset.it/cro...agricoltori-di-ravenna_65080103-202302k.shtml

"WThey agreed to the cutting of an embankment, they saw their orchards, their greenhouses, their fields submerged, their farms destroyed. It is thus, with a "yes" that has seen the sacrifices of generations fade, that the farmers of Ravenna and the Ravenna area saved the historic center of the city from the flood, a treasure chest of priceless treasures of the ancient Byzantine capital, with monuments Unesco. But they don't feel like heroes. "We could not hold back if, due to a dramatic clash between water and land, Ravenna was one step away from being submerged", Lino Bacchilega, director of the local farmers' coop Cab Ter.Ra, told La Repubblica. "The commissioner Castrese De Rosa - he adds - asked us for permission to cut the embankment and flood the land of our 70 members to lighten the water pressure and try to save what could be saved. We looked each other in the eye, but we knew already that a refusal would have been an unforgivable shame"."
 
The flooding has been so devastating and so heartbreaking. I have not been able to stop thinking about the people of Emilia Romagna.

Tina, I tried the link you shared but it's not working. Thanks for the info.
 

The link worked for me...an impressive story, indeed a huge sacrifice on the part of the farmers, and immense damage for them because of the floods.

Screenshot_20230523_105940_Chrome.jpg
 
These farmers are sacrificing everything to save Ravenna. It will take years to recover.
It will be interesting to see how compensation will play out in such a disaster. Certainly a test case for what awaits with climate change. Indeed these are catastrophes of "biblical proportions".
 
So strange. I tried the link a few times with no luck. Kept getting a strange message BUT now it's working! Must be your magic touch, Joe.
I wish I had such magic, but I guess it has something to do with the way links are copied. No idea how these things work. There are some good videos embedded in that item as well, albeit only in Italian....
 
Some items for those that might be interested in the aftermath of the floodings. For some reason, there's not much reporting on this in mainstream media sites in English. So have translation enabled :






There's even an entry in Wikipedia :
 
ANSA.it reported yesterday that all of the major lakes and rivers in northern Italy are back to historical average levels after several years of severe drought. This is after the ongoing rains in May and June.
 

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