Italy floods leave 13 dead and thousands displaced – MyJoyOnline.com

More than 20 rivers have burst their banks in Italy, killing 13 and forcing thousands from their homes after six months of rain fell in one and a half days.

More bodies were found Thursday after almost all the rivers burst their banks between Bologna and the north-east coast 70 miles (115 km) away.

Some 280 landslides have occurred.

“They were a very bad 48 hours. The water and the mud took over our entire town,” said Roberta Lazzarini, 71.

His house in Botteghino di Zocca, south of Bologna, was hit by a torrent on Wednesday. Streets, houses and gardens were flooded and Roberta said that she was still scared.

“I have never seen anything like this here. We were stuck and didn't know what to do. I just hope it doesn't happen again."

Firefighters helped residents flee their homes, including a 97-year-old woman who had to leave her room in a rubber boat.

“Our community is broken,” said Inés, Roberta's daughter, who runs the local cafe in the central square. "We felt completely isolated, isolated, some of us were really terrified."

“We've had flooding before, but it's never been this bad that I can remember,” said Lamieri, 74, as he cleared mud from his basement, where his son stores goods to sell at the souvenir shop he runs. Bologna center.

“The street became a river. We lost all our things that were stored here. We estimate thousands of euros in damages."

This is one of the many flooded towns and cities in the province of Emilia-Romagna, not only from the rivers, but also from the overflowing canals.

More evacuations took place west of Ravenna on Thursday and more bodies were found, including a couple in a flat in the town of Russi, which had flooded hours earlier.

Many warn that Italy needs a national plan to respond to the effects of climate change.

Civil Protection Minister Nello Musumeci said tropical conditions had already reached Italy, with 20cm of rain falling in 36 hours and in some areas up to 50cm.

“Soils that remain dry for a long time end up cementing themselves, drastically limiting their water absorption capacity,” he said.

Regional dams had not been built for 40 years, he said, and a new approach to hydraulic engineering engineering was needed.

The government of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has called a crisis meeting next Tuesday.

Many factors contribute to flooding, but global warming caused by climate change increases the likelihood of extreme rainfall. The world has already warmed by around 1.1°C since the industrial age began, and temperatures will continue to rise unless governments around the world make drastic cuts in emissions.

Antonio Francesco Rizzuto, a 55-year-old lawyer who lives by the river with his wife, was forced to leave Tuesday night and now lives with his daughter in a nearby town.

“It was something that nobody expected in these proportions,” he said. “Before we left our house, the water level was rising by the minute. When we got back yesterday... our living room was completely submerged. We will have to throw away most of our furniture.”

Stefano Bonaccini, regional president of the Emilia-Romagna region, said the costs of the damage ran into billions of euros.

Overnight, evacuations were ordered in towns west of Ravenna. Villanova residents were ordered to seek shelter on the upper floors, a day after floodwaters cascaded through the historic center of Lugo.

Lugo flooded again on Thursday, like Cervi, on the coast.

This weekend's Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix at Imola was canceled due to the risk of flooding from the nearby Santerno river. Many of the areas around the track used for parking and watching the race were flooded Tuesday.

Further north, in Ferrara, a Bruce Springsteen rock concert was scheduled to take place on Thursday despite the regional disaster. Some 50,000 fans had reserved tickets for the sold-out concert.

There was some criticism of the decision to go ahead, with a local councillor, Anna Ferraresi, accusing local officials of proceeding despite the desperation of thousands of people in the region.

In addition to the 23 rivers that overflowed, the Zena stream became a raging torrent at Botteghino di Zocca.

Lino Lenzi, 80, was standing in what used to be his daughter's garden, which was now flooded with mud, his grandchildren's toys submerged.

“I've lived here for 70 years and I've never seen anything like it,” he said, “water is everywhere.”

The house has been in the family for generations and their daughter had just finished renovating it.

Inside her kitchen, the water is up to our ankles. The day before, she was over 2 m (6.5 ft) tall.

“We have had to dispose of the water with everything we have: buckets, pots and pans.”

Lino complained that the local rivers had not been dredged for years.

“No one has shown up to help. We have not received any help from the government or local authority."

Rescue operations have been difficult as many roads have been flooded and many towns have been left without power.

The only help Lino got was from a teenager who lives nearby. “He came by and saw that we needed help. He helped us move our furniture.”

Credit: bbc

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