On May 3rd, it finally arrived: the rain that northern Italians had been waiting for.
However, in many places, too much water started to fall. In the Emilia-Romagna region, east of the city of Bologna, it rained 200 millimeters per day.
Measured in Finland last May the highest daily rainfall was (you switch to another service) 27.3 millimeters.
Rivers overflowed, and rainwater began to seep into homes. In the village of Sesto Imolese, the water accumulated in a farmer Mattia Galeati to the fields. In his country house, the water rose to a height of about two meters.
– We pumped water out of my land with the help of machines for many days. I thought that maybe we could save a small part of the crop, he says.
Two weeks later, the heavy rain started again. The water covered Galeat’s fields again. He couldn’t even pump the water out anymore: a 22-hectare grain and vegetable crop, from cabbages to cucumbers, was gone.
The farmer estimates that he will lose 250,000 euros in income due to the floods.
– I can’t believe this is true, Galeati gasps as he stands in rubber boots in front of his country house on an asphalt road along which the water reaches up to his knees.
There is furniture lying around, which the flood water has carried out of the house and into the neighboring fields.
Tens of thousands had to leave their homes
In the flooded areas of Emilia-Romagna, it rained up to 570 millimeters in two weeks – half of what it rains on average in a year, says a meteorologist and climate scientist from the Italian National Research Institute Giulio Betti.
– A completely exceptional amount. The extremely rare weather phenomenon happened twice within two weeks, he sums up.
The state of emergency in Emilia-Romagna continued for days after the heavy rain stopped on Wednesday last week. The worst affected by the floods was the province of Ravenna, especially the cities of Faenza and Cesena and their surrounding areas.
More than 40 municipalities were partially affected by the floodwaters, and the water caused 280 landslides. 14 people died due to the floods.
Italian of the emergency authority (you switch to another service) according to more than 20,000 people have had to leave their homes in flood areas. Almost 3,000 of them are in municipal emergency accommodation.
Yesterday, Monday, reached a person who lives in the city of Bagnacavallo by phone by Lisa Marin, who and his family were forced to leave their home when water flooded in for the second time in two weeks. Marini said that it is still impossible to get to the apartment on the second floor.
Almost a third of Italy is at risk of flooding
Prime Minister of Italy by Giorgia Meloni the government will discuss the estimated hundreds of millions of euros in emergency aid for flood areas today, Tuesday.
of the Italian Environment Agency about statistics (you switch to another service)it turns out that almost 30 percent of Italy is at least under low flood risk. The risk is particularly high in the Emilia-Romagna region.
Leader of the opposition party Partito Democratico, or Democratic Party Elly Schlein said that politicians have not done enough to prepare for the consequences of climate change.
in Italy let’s talk now too (you switch to another service) from inefficient use of public money: even if the budget for preparing for floods, for example, had been in use, the governments have not used it to prepare for natural disasters.
Heavy rains do not cure drought
Italy is particularly vulnerable to floods caused by, for example, heavy rains. Many things, from construction to farming, affect flooding, but climate change increases the likelihood of extreme weather events such as exceptionally heavy rains.
Italy belongs to the climate change risk area. Climate change is warming Italy and the rest of the Mediterranean region 20 percent faster than the rest of the world.
Last year was the hottest and driest in the history of measurements in Italy. Northern Italy has suffered from a severe drought for more than a year, which has led in some places to disputes related to water regulation and water use in regional administrations. The drought was further aggravated by a winter with little snow.
– And the drought is not really over, even though the rains in May have made it a little easier, says a researcher from the Italian State Research Institute Ramona Magno.
The level of the Po river, which is important for water bodies such as lakes and agricultural production, is still much lower than average for this time of year in a large part of northern Italy. According to the researchers, the drought preceding the floods could also have worsened the flooding, as it prevents the soil from absorbing rainwater.
Such extreme weather is undoubtedly related to climate change, researchers say.
– Alternating short-term heavy rains and long periods of drought are a textbook example of the predicted effects of climate change, says Giulio Betti.