Rescue crews desperately tried to reach towns and villages in northern Italy still isolated by heavy rains and flooding overnight, as the death toll rose to 13 and authorities began mapping out clean-up and reconstruction plans.
The extreme weather behind this week’s disaster – a prolonged drought punctuated by 36 hours of intense rainfall, two weeks after another downpour – led to two dozen rivers and tributaries bursting their banks.
The force of water sent torrents of mud tearing through entire towns in Emilia-Romagna, flooding storefronts and basements.
Local mayors warned that some remote villages were still completely cut off because landslides had made roads impassable and phone service remained severed.
It came after Bruce Springsteen courted staunch criticism on Thursday for pressing on with his concert in the disaster-hit Italian region of Emilia-Romagna.
An aerial view shows partially submerged cars at a flooded area following the overflowing of a river, in the center of Lugo, near Ravenna, Italy on Thursday
Bruce Springsteen performs a second concert at Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys on April 30, 2023 in Barcelona, Spain, late last month
The landslides have prevented rescue teams from reaching residents and authorities from understanding the full scope of their needs, said Mercato Seraceno mayor Monica Rossi.
‘If it rains any more, the situation will be tragic,’ Ms Rossi warned on Sky TG24, standing on a road with a chunk missing from a landslide.
The death toll rose to 13 after more bodies were discovered on Thursday in the hard-hit province of Ravenna, state-run RAI television reported, citing the Ravenna prefecture.
Among them were a couple in their 70s found dead in their flooded apartment in Russi after their son sounded the alarm that he had lost contact with them.
By Thursday morning, some parts of the city of Faenza were still underwater, with cars submerged and basements swamped by thick, gooey mud.
One family standing on their balcony said they did not have electricity, gas or food. Other residents took shelter at a local gymnasium, where soldiers set up cots on the basketball court for new arrivals.
‘At some point they told us all to leave the area, and about one hour later we heard a loud boom,’ 29-year-old Faenza resident Claudia said on Thursday, recalling the moment early Wednesday that the nearby Lamone river burst its banks. ‘The water just flooded all over.’
More than 10,000 people fled their homes, some plucked from rooftops or balconies by rescue helicopters and others ferried out on dinghies. One family with a 20-day-old baby was rescued on Thursday morning, said Cesena mayor Enzo Lattuca.
An aerial view shows partially submerged cars at a flooded area following the overflowing of a river, in the center of Lugo, near Ravenna, Italy on Thursday
Volunteers at work on Thursday to free the houses and streets affected by the flooding of the Savio river from the mud
The landslides have prevented rescue teams from reaching residents and authorities from understanding the full scope of their needs, said Mercato Seraceno mayor Monica Rossim (Pictured: Volunteers at work on Thursday)
Another packed their belongings into an inflatable pool which they floated down the thigh-high river of mud that was previously a street.
But residents in other towns, such as Castel Bolognese, started cleaning up as the waters receded, with residents shovelling out mud-filled basements and storefronts.
The drought-parched region had already estimated some 1.0 billion euros (£870 million) in losses from heavy rains earlier this month, but the regional president, Stefano Bonaccini, said the losses now reached multiple billions given the widespread damage to farmland, storefronts and infrastructure.
Italian farm lobby Coldiretti said more than 5,000 farms with greenhouses, nurseries and stables had been flooded, covering thousands of acres of vineyards, fruit groves, vegetables farms and grain fields.
It said the damage was ‘incalculable’, because not only current harvests but future ones could be affected, given the permanent damage to roots from the ‘suffocating’ mud of the run-off.
Mr Bonaccini has called for the national government to declare a state of emergency, something that is likely when the Cabinet meets next week following Premier Giorgia Meloni’s return from the Group of Seven summit in Japan. Already, the region has said it is looking to reconstruction efforts and restoration of vital infrastructure.
‘It will take gigantic work’ to recover, Mr Bonaccini told a daily briefing.
The Superior Institute for Environmental Protection and Research has identified Emilia-Romagna as one of the most at-risk Italian regions for flooding, where both territory and populations face a greater danger of ‘hazard scenarios’ than the rest of the country.
The hardest-hit eastern part of the region, sandwiched between the Apennine mountain chain and the Adriatic Sea, was first hit by intense rain earlier in May.
The second downpour tested the ability of drought-parched soil to absorb water, the institute said, adding that high sea elevations and bora winds against the coast may have contributed to the flooding of rivers and tributaries.
Pope Francis sent a telegram of condolences to the people of Emilia-Romagna, assuring them of his prayers, the Vatican said on Thursday.
Italy was not alone in coping with heavy rainfall, as parts of Slovenia, Croatia and Bosnia also reported flooding and landslides that required evacuations.
Unsettling footage shows the extent of the devastation in the popular holiday region, with streets turned into fast-moving rivers.
Houses and cars have been ruined or entirely submerged in dozens of historic towns including Luga, Ravenna, and Cesara, as rescuers desperately try and reach families trapped within their homes.
The horrendous flooding saw Sunday’s Formula One Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix called off on Wednesday, with officials, drivers and teams united in recognition that all available services should be committed to rescue efforts.
But ‘The Boss’ Bruce Springsteen has so far refused to cancel his gig, which is set to take place tonight in the town of Ferrara roughly 30 miles from the epicentre of the catastrophe.
Up to 50,000 fans were slated to attend the concert but the widespread flooding means many are unlikely to make it.
A local councillor described Springsteen’s decision to continue with the gig as an insult to the ‘pain, desperation and difficulty’ of those affected, while Italian TV presenter Tiziana Ferrario tweeted: ‘I love Bruce Springsteen but given the victims and the towns submerged by mud, the Ferrara concert seems out of tune.
‘Once [upon a time] you would go and shovel and help who was buried in mud rather than singing and dancing thoughtlessly in the same area.’
At least 11 people have been killed in the region – including a 60-year-old woman whose body was dragged 12 miles down a river – and there are fears the death toll will rise further as several people are missing amid the carnage.
A general view shows displaced people at the Palacattani sports centre after heavy rains caused flooding across Italy’s northern Emilia Romagna region, on May 18, 2023
Military officers assist a person on a dinghy after heavy rains hit Italy’s Emilia Romagna region, in Faenza, Italy, May 18, 2023
People are rescued in Faenza, Italy, Thursday, May 18, 2023. Exceptional rains Wednesday in a drought-struck region of northern Italy swelled rivers over their banks, killing at least 11 people
A woman holds a pet carrier as she walks in a flooded street in the town of Lugo on May 18, 2023
Rescuers evacuate residents in a dinghy across a flooded street in the town of Lugo on May 18, 2023
Houses flooded during flood in Italy
The ‘apocalyptic’ floods wreaking havoc across northern Italy have left entire towns submerged under water and seen roads swept away in dramatic landslides (pictured) as locals struggle to come to terms with the devastation
Pictured: Houses in the town of Cesara are submerged under water on Wednesday
Today, officials from the province of Ravenna said two people had been found dead, with media reports suggesting the pair were to farmers in their 70s in the small town of Russi.
The body of a 60-year-old woman, whose husband also died in the extreme weather, was found on the beach near Cesenatico yesterday after her body had been dragged 12 miles down a river.
Two bodies were also recovered by divers yesterday in Forli after the Montone river burst its banks. The town’s mayor said the floods are the ‘worst situation’ the town has ever experienced.
The floods have seen thousands of Italians evacuated from their now destroyed homes, and show no signs of abating.
Authorities in the city of Ravenna issued an immediate evacuation order today for three villages threatened by floods.
Buses were being sent to help residents leave Villanova di Ravenna, Filetto and Roncalceci after the river Lamone burst its banks.
Nearly two dozen rivers and streams have flooded across the southeast of the Emilia Romagna region following downpours earlier this week, submerging entire neighbourhoods and farmland.
More than 10,000 people have been evacuated from their homes and hundreds of landslides were reported, regional officials said.
A video shows one desperate pregnant woman being rescued from her home by firefighters in a helicopter as the water rises around the building. The rescuers carefully lowered a basket down to the woman’s home where she was helped by a firefighter before being lifted into the helicopter
People are rescued in Faenza, Italy, on Thursday after devastating floods turned streets into rivers
Residents remove mud and debris after heavy rains hit Italy’s Emilia Romagna region, in Faenza, Italy, on Thursday
People are rescued in Faenza, Italy, on Thursday after deadly floods tore through the town
Damaged cars that were swept away in the floods are seen stranded in the San Rocco district
An aerial view taken on May 18 shows a supermarket’s flooded parking lot in the town of Cesena, after heavy rains caused flooding across Italy’s northern Emilia Romagna region
An aerial view taken on May 18 shows a flooded street in the town of Cesena, after heavy rains caused flooding across Italy’s northern Emilia Romagna region
The streets of Cesena have been turned into mud after the nearby river burst its banks on Thursday
Residents remove debris after heavy rains hit Italy’s Emilia Romagna region, in Cesena, Italy, on Thursday
An aerial view taken on Thursday shows residents clearing mud in a street of Cesena
A supermarket’s flooded parking lot – where cars have been swept away by the water – is seen in Cesena on Thursday
A church is flooded with water after heavy rains hit Italy’s Emilia Romagna region, in Castel Bolognese, Italy, on Thursday
A panoramic view shows the Imola racetrack on Thursday after heavy rains caused flooding across Italy’s northern Emilia Romagna region. The F1 race this weekend has now been cancelled
The rain stopped mid-afternoon on Wednesday and meteorologists said they expected no significant rainfall on Thursday.
‘But when we have six months of rain in 36 hours, falling where there had already been record rain two weeks ago, there is no territory that can hold out,’ Stefano Bonaccini, president of the Emilia Romagna region, told La7 television channel late Wednesday.
‘We had an estimated two billion (euros) of damages two weeks ago… the ground no longer absorbs anything,’ Bonaccini said.
Two people died in the same region earlier this month after 48 hours of almost continuous rain.
Italy’s armed forces and the coastguard have joined the emergency effort, deploying helicopters to lift desperate residents from their homes and inflatable boats to reach houses surrounded on all sides by water.
As the floods receded in some areas, residents were left cleaning homes and streets thick with mud and filled with debris.
‘I’ve lived here since 1979, I’ve seen floods go by, but I’ve never seen anything like that,’ Edoardo Amadori, a resident of the city of Cesena, said on Wednesday.
Thousands of farms in the fertile agricultural area were affected, but Agriculture Minister Francesco Lollobrigida said the water would have to subside before the government could quantify the damage.
The flooding caused the cancellation of Sunday’s Formula One Emilia Romagna Grand Prix scheduled in Imola, with organisers saying they could not guarantee the safety of fans, teams and staff.
A flooded house is submerged in the water in the town of Cesena, Italy, on Thursday
Flooded buildings are submerged in the water in the town of Cesena on Thursday
A view of a waterlogged building with debris around after heavy rains hit Italy’s Emilia Romagna region, in Castel Bolognese, Italy, on Thursday
Flooded bungalows in Cesena after heavy rains caused major flooding
Firefighters rescue inhabitants of the Romiti district after the flooding of the Montone river on Wednesday night
This weekend’s Emilia Romagna Grand Prix has been called off due to extreme rain in Imola
A shopping centre in Cesana is flooded after the Savio river burst its banks
Cars are partially submerged along a flooded street in the village of Castel Bolognese, Italy, Wednesday, May 17, 2023
A man awaits rescue by helicopter on the roof of his flooded house in the town of Faenza in the northern Italian region of Emilia Romagna today
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