Part of Emilia-Romagna is under water after the heavy rains of May 16 and 17. The inventory of damage takes time because the flooded area is huge, agricultural and very touristic
Massive rains on May 16 and 17 in Italy caused heavy flooding in the northeastern regions of the country. About twenty rivers left their beds, and Thursday, May 18, disaster evacuation operations were still in progress. The human and material damage is very heavy for this flagship region of tourism in Italy.
The summer season has not yet started and already, the bathing establishments are worried, mainly those of the Riviera Romagnola. Last year this coast recorded 42 million overnight stays, Italian tourists, but also German, Dutch and French. But the most affected sector in the immediate future is agriculture. The largest union in the sector at the national level estimates that the damage is incalculable. For orchards alone, and there are many in Emilia-Romagna, thehe figure of one billion euros is advanced by the boss of the regional union, so it will be much more. 5,000 farms are flooded, with drowned animals and devastated facilities. Tens of thousands of hectares of fruit, vegetables and cereals are under water.
For the president of Emilia-Romagna, Stefano Bonaccini, this damage is quite comparable with that of the earthquake which struck the region ten years ago, and which caused 10 billion euros in damage. Especially since Emilia-Romagna was already affected by floods at the beginning of the month. “We don’t have a precise figure yet, but we had already started to assess the damage, commune by commune, during the first floods a fortnight ago, to arrive at around a billion… So it will be much more! But what is important, right away, is the urgency and the safety of people. Then we will make an inventory of public and private damage. We will need a little time because of the immensity of the territory affected.”
The government will already suspend taxes and contributions for companies, which are demanding technical unemployment measures and that state aid not be rejected by Brussels. The government will also appeal to the solidarity fund of the European Union.
Town centers are flooded. Simone lives in Cesena, where the Savio River overflowed on Wednesday May 17. He had just finished building his house and gave his testimony to Sky television. “It was a disaster, a disaster. There, we roll up our sleeves, we clean up, but we are still at the limit. I stayed until the last moment and when I saw the water coming I escaped and left everything there! We are asked to leave, because there could be another wave of water and mud. We hope not, but we are at the limit. My house, I finished it yesterday. What a pity !”
Bruce Springsteen concert maintained
The athletes, for their part, observed a minute of silence on the Giro, at the Rome tennis internationals, and this will be the case before each football match in the Italian Championship. And Ferrari, which is headquartered in the region, donated one million euros.
These floods caused the cancellation of the Formula 1 Grand Prix at Imola. But not the Bruce Springsteen concert in Ferrara, and that doesn’t please everyone. Some believe that for reasons of solidarity with the affected populations, the concert had to be cancelled. 50,000 people are expected and some are worried about the idea that such an event will take away men and resources from the relief workers who are still working to save residents or simply clean up. And then there are those who could not go to the concert for practical travel reasons and who sold their tickets, bought a year ago.