At least 14 people died and more than 36,000 were forced to leave their homes in the floods that hit the Italian region of Emilia Romagna for a couple of days. Now an aid package of two billion euros, around SEK 20 billion, has been set aside to help people affected.
But already in 2014, the Italian government, led by Matteo Renzi, introduced a project that would protect the country against similar tragedies. Significant progress was made in the early years, but the initiative was eventually phased out in 2018 and most of the money was redirected.
– The hydrogeological system is vulnerable, but even greater vulnerability is found in Italy’s political system, says Italy expert Fabio Cristiano, political scientist at the University of Utrecht.
See more about why the project failed in the clip above.