Italian cabinet to meet to discuss emergency situation.
At least nine people have died and several are missing in Italy’s northern Emilia-Romagna region after torrential rain caused 21 rivers to burst their banks leading to severe flooding.
Around 13,000 people have been evacuated from the worst-hit areas, including Faenza, Cesena and Forli, as well as the residents of an entire town, Fosso Ghiaia in the Ravenna province, reports state broadcaster RAI.
The cabinet of Italian premier Giorgia Meloni, who is currently abroad, will meet next Tuesday to address the emergency situation in Emilia-Romagna and other northern regions affected by extreme weather.
#Maltempo #EmiliaRomagna, continua il lavoro delle squadre dei #vigilidelfuoco impegnati in soccorso alla popolazione colpita dall’#alluvione. Nella clip video la ricognizione aerea dell’elicottero Drago VF152 sulla zona di #Forlì [#17maggio 16:30] pic.twitter.com/W2uI8o6q5o
— Vigili del Fuoco (@vigilidelfuoco) May 17, 2023
The flooding in Emilia-Romagna, which comes just two weeks after the region was battered by extreme weather causing two fatalities, has resulted in the closure of schools and suspension of some rail services.
The Formula One Grand Prix scheduled in Imola this weekend has been called off however the sold-out Bruce Springsteen concert in Ferrara is set to go ahead on Thursday, according to news agency ANSA.
Italy’s civil protection minister Nello Musumeci stated that some areas of Emilia-Romagna had received half their average annual rainfall in 36 hours, while the region’s governor Stefano Bonaccini described the disaster as “an event of extraordinary magnitude, never recorded before.”