Bad weather, Bologna battered: one dead and 3,000 evacuated in Emilia-Romagna

Red alert until midnight today in the lowland areas of Emilia-Romagna - metropolitan city of Bologna, provinces of Modena, Reggio Emilia (up to Parma), Ferrara, Ravenna - and in the hills of Bologna-Romagna. The high and intense rainfall during the night between 19 and 20 October, which is currently winding down, today generated new increases in river levels, particularly in the basins of the Enza, Secchia and Reno rivers and their tributaries, with numerous floods in the hills of Bologna and the city of Bologna.

Nurseries and schools of all levels in Bologna will be closed on Monday. This is the decision taken by the city council to allow the necessary checks to be carried out on all school premises and to guarantee their safety after last night's flooding. "The city of Bologna has had a very important and significant impact" of bad weather, with "flooding of basements" and "streets that have become torrents". This was said by the acting president of the Emilia Romagna region, Irene Priolo, at a press conference. "Unfortunately we have had a victim in Pianoro, but at the moment there are no missing or missing persons reported," she added. The figure of the evacuated is constantly being updated, but this night there were "about 2,000" and there were "15 thousand power grids disconnected, which are now down to 4 thousand," the president explained. In general, the most critical situations are 'in Budrio and Pianoro'.

'I have heard the President of the Region, Irene Priolo, and we will ask for a state of emergency'. This was said by the mayor of Bologna, Matteo Lepore, who recalled that 'nobody expected this amount of rain and not on the city of Bologna'. Lepore, in a meeting with the media in the city hall, stressed that it is 'important that we understand that this time it was Bologna that was most affected. We need the entire metropolitan city of Bologna to be helped to have the resources we need to start up again as soon as possible, to reimburse those who have suffered damage, and also to do all the work we need to do on roads and sewers'.

At least 3,000 people, but the total figure is still being updated, were evacuated in Emilia-Romagna between yesterday and today as a precautionary measure or because their homes were not in safe condition. Over 2,100 was the figure for Bologna and its province at the beginning of the morning. Then one thousand people were added in Cadelbosco in the Reggio Emilia area. An even more updated and precise figure will only be available in the next few hours. (ANSA).

This morning in Emilia-Romagna there were 8 rivers above level 3, the red threshold of maximum alert. A total of 15 watercourses exceeded the alert threshold during the event. Floods at historical maximums were recorded on the Samoggia, Idice, Sillaro and Senio. Some rivers recorded levels above those of May 2023, such as the Idice at Castenaso and the Samoggia at Forcelli. Under close observation is the outflow at the confluence with the Reno, where the flood is expected to increase in the valley section. In the Modena and Reggio areas, floods with levels at the crest close to threshold 3 are also spreading in the Parma, Enza and Secchia valley stretches, slowed down at the mouth by the transit of the flood in the Po. A particular critical situation has been recorded in Cadelbosco di Sotto, in the province of Reggio Emilia, where there has been a break in the Tassone Canal: operations are underway to assist the citizens involved.