Bad weather in Italy: landslides, evacuations and flooding still in Romagna: "water is not absorbed"

By Cristiano Antonino On May 18, 2023

Over 250 landslides identified, at the moment the provisional toll of the umpteenth wave of bad weather that hit Emilia-Romagna is nine dead, the third in a few days

Other evacuations in the Ravenna area: at 7 the inhabitants of Villanova di Ravenna, Filetto and Roncalceci were evacuated.

Romagna (Italy): another difficult night due to bad weather in Ravenna

First the rise in the water levels of the Magni canal which caused overflows and flooding in the surrounding areas.

With the recommendation to residents to go up to the upper floors or to go to the headquarters of the Villanova city committee or to the reception area set up at Cinemacity.

Then the fracture of the Lamone between Reda and Fossolo, which overloaded the Cer and the entire secondary network of consortium canals, flooding significant parts of the countryside.

Particularly interested are the municipalities and hamlets of Russi, Godo, San Pancrazio and Villanova di Ravenna.

The Municipality of Ravenna promptly intervened on the spot, with the support of the local police and proceeded to inform the citizens of Villanova di Ravenna, in collaboration with the city committee, of the ongoing phenomenon, inviting them to go to the upper floors, offering those the first floor of the civic center headquarters, open extraordinarily, or the accommodation at the Cinemacity was impossible.

Finally, around 7 this morning, the order for the immediate evacuation of the population and businesses of Villanova di Ravenna, Filetto and Roncalceci affected by possible flooding was issued.

With reception point at the Cinema City and at the Classis Museum.

ITALY, LUGO ALSO FLOODED IN ROMAGNA

Even the Municipality of Lugo, in the province of Ravenna, has been dealing with the floods since this night.

The floods of Senio and Santerno have in fact reached the town and the surrounding areas, flooding various streets in the city centre.

As the mayor Davide Ranalli explains on social media, the lamination basin and the aspiration of part of the water in the Mulini canal gave a hand.

However, “quantity is too important”.

The invitation is therefore also in this case to go up to the upper floors of the houses, or to evacuate, going to friends or relatives or to the sports hall in via Sebin.

IN ROMAGNA FLOODING AND RESCUE STILL IN PROGRESS

Some flooding is still underway in Romagna, particularly in the Ravenna area, “because the water cannot be absorbed”.

To say it is the president of the Re

Emilia-Romagna region, Stefano Bonaccini, guest this morning in video link with Agorà.

“We have over 10,000 displaced people right now – Bonaccini points out – we have 280 active landslides in over 60 municipalities and 400 roads destroyed or interrupted.

Unfortunately we still have some flooding going on in the Ravenna area, because the water cannot be absorbed.

It fell on land that is no longer able to absorb anything, it is all channeled into rivers and some banks break due to the pressure”.

Since yesterday, continues Bonaccini, “one by one many human lives have been saved and we are arriving at the last outposts”.

Due to the difficulties in the connections and the lack of electricity, in fact, “in some cases it was almost impossible to arrive – explains the president – the rescues are being completed in these hours”.

The front of the phenomenon after all “is very vast”, because it goes from the Reggio area to the Romagna, including the Apennine areas.

“Now we have to think about people – says Bonaccini – the institutions must have this as an obsession. People are the first thing that matters and we need to protect them”.

RAVENNA ASKS FOR MORE ARMY MEANS TO REBUILD LEVELS

More men and special vehicles from the Army to rebuild the banks broken by the floods of the rivers.

The mayor of Ravenna Michele De Pascale invokes them by speaking on Radio this morning too.

“If the presence of military forces is not strengthened, we will not rebuild the embankments and the flooding will continue”, explains the mayor, specifying that on the one hand the situation is improving from the point of view of the condition of the rivers, but the large breakages in the cities of the plain they are carrying a lot of water towards the sea, and therefore towards the city of mosaics.

The plains around the city are in fact flooded by even 50-60 centimeters of water above the ground.

The administration, he continues, has adopted a policy of preventive evacuations by setting up five reception hubs.

And between today and tomorrow there will be the first returns home. Even if the forecasts for the weekend are not exactly positive.

There are also many fronts open in Cesena, even if not the one of the embankments to be rebuilt, echoes his colleague Enzo Lattuca.

Emphasizing that the restoration and cleaning operations of roads and cellars are starting, given that the problem is moving downstream, towards the sea.

The city, which yesterday feared a new flooding of the Savio, therefore breathes a sigh of relief, also thanks to the breaking of the banks downstream which caused the water level to drop.

The first attention, however, concludes Lattuca, still concerns the rescue of the last people in difficulty, with the helicopter in the collapsed hill areas and with rubber dinghies and amphibious vehicles in the countryside and in flooded houses.

And in the meantime, the recovery takes place.

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