Vita gazette – The rain that fell for more than 24 hours has led to several problems: River courses, landslides, flooding, closed roads, and evacuated citizens…

Italy’s climate can quickly shift from drought to storms within a few hours, making it clear that we cannot postpone addressing the climate emergency any longer. Preserving the land must now become an urgent priority.

Several areas of Romagna woke up this morning flooded by the floods of the rivers that cross it, swollen by the rains of the last few hours. The red alert for bad weather and heavy rainfall has been communicated in the region. All law enforcement, firefighters and even the Army in the field to stem the damage. The flood of the Montone River and other watercourses is also at significant risk.

Over 24 hours of heavy rainfall, thunderstorms and bad weather in various areas of Italy, but the Region that so far seems to be the most affected is Emilia Romagna, where today, on Tuesday, 2 May and Wednesday, 3 May, the authorities governments have also declared a red alert. In some provinces, many citizens have been immediately evacuated. In the Ravenna area, 250, and in Faenza, over 100 people. There was also the flooding of the Lamone, Marzano and Senio rivers. An over 80-year-old man lost his life in Castel Bolognese, and the Fire Brigade intervened in Fontanelice, in the province of Bologna, following the collapse of an inhabited building. Overall, there were over 400 interventions by the fire brigade throughout the region.

Some homes were also evacuated as a precaution in Dovadola, due to a landslide, in Monzuno and Castel San Pietro in the province of Bologna. In the latter two cases, due to flooding.

The inconveniences also concern personal mobility because the provincial roads connecting Bologna to Ravenna have been closed again due to landslides and flooding. Blockages have also been reported in the centre of Bologna, mainly via Saffi, which closed after the Ravone culvert flooded.

Some hamlets remain under observation, such as San Pancrazio, Ragone, San Marco, Santerno, Ammonite, Mezzano, Glorie and Torri (all villages close to the Lamone) Montone rivers). And precisely about the Lamone, the bridges of Traversara and Villanova are being monitored in particular. Furthermore, the persistence of rainfall in the central-eastern sector of the region could create further increases in the hydrometric levels from upstream in the basins already affected by the floods.

Red alert: transport is blocked, and schools are closed.

Schools have also been closed in municipalities such as Faenza, Castel Bolognese, Selva and San Martino di Molinella, where the Quaderna has overflowed. As regards the transport system, Ferrovie dello Stato announced that railway traffic has been suspended in some areas of Emilia-Romagna: between Faenza and Forlì (Bologna-Rimini line), Russi and Lugo (Bologna-Ravenna line), Russi and Granarolo (Faenza-Ravenna line) and between Lavezzola and Mezzano (Ferrara-Ravenna line). The suspension explained the Fs was made necessary to raise the alert level of the Montone, Lamone, Senio and Santerno rivers due to heavy and prolonged rains.