The intense rains in Emilia-Romagna have caused flooding, overflows and blackouts. In Pianoro, south of Bologna, a flood hit a car with two brothers on board: one of the two managed to escape to safety, while the other was found dead by the fire brigade helicopter a few hours later . He was about twenty years old.
The red alert, the highest emergency level, was scheduled for Saturday, then lowered to orange for today. Around 9pm yesterday in Bologna the Ravone torrent overflowed, crossing the city, flooding Via Saffi, in the north-west area, and some streets in the centre. Later in the evening the Reno canal also flooded, flooding Via San Felice and Via Lame, and several access roads to the city were closed.
In the evening, Mayor Matteo Lepore invited citizens not to leave their homes, not to use the car and, when possible, to go up to the upper floors of buildings in the most critical areas. There were blackouts in various parts of the city and the Modernissimo cinema, in the centre, was evacuated due to infiltrations. Lepore said that the firefighters and local police were activated for rescue operations and to help clear garages and cellars invaded by water and mud.
In Casalecchio di Reno, south-west of Bologna, where a concert by Umberto Tozzi had just been held, spectators were detained for two hours inside the Unipol Arena sports hall for security reasons. In the municipality some underpasses were closed and there was a landslide in Via Belvedere Alta.
In Cesenatico, on the Adriatic coast, there were no floods but heavy rains flooded several streets, cellars and garages. Four elderly people had to leave their home. Already yesterday the firefighters had intervened about ten times in the province of Forlì-Cesena to free some people who were stuck at home or in their cars.
In Bagnacavallo, in the province of Ravenna, one of the municipalities most affected by last September’s floods, the municipality ordered the total evacuation of some areas and set up a reception center in the gym of an elementary school. Evacuations were also ordered in Cadelbosco di Sopra, in the province of Reggio Emilia, where the Crostolo stream flooded.
Since yesterday in Emilia-Romagna there have been interruptions and suspensions of traffic also on the railway line. Today the section between Rimini and Cesenatico and the one between Casalecchio Garibaldi and Sasso Marconi remain closed due to the flooding of the station.
In recent days rains and storms have affected various areas of Italy, including in the South. There was damage especially in Sicily, between Friday and Saturday, with flooding and flooding. In the previous days there had also been damage in Liguria – where one person died and there were landslides and flooding – and in Tuscany, where the rains caused damage and inconvenience in the provinces of Pisa, Livorno, Siena and Prato.
