The Italian government will on Tuesday release emergency funds for northeastern regions hit by unprecedented floods that have killed 14 people, displaced tens of thousands and left thousands of hectares of farmland under water .
The government of Giorgia Meloni, struggling with essential savings measures, should initially release at least 100 million euros in emergency aid for the benefit of the disaster areas of Emilia-Romagna, a region considered “the orchard of Italy” where the still unquantifiable damage promises to be record.
Six months of rain fell in just 36 hours last week, causing around 20 rivers to burst their banks, turning streets into rivers of mud and submerging large swaths of farmland and many ranches.
These movements of water and earth led to the discovery of 14 old bombs which were disposed of by army artificers.
“In recent days we have found 14 military bombs, most of which could not explode, but as a precaution the army artificers detonated them all,” a local military source told AFP, without being able to specify. what war did these bombs date from?
The agricultural union Coldiretti has issued an alert concerning this problem, the passage of tractors being likely to trigger an explosion.
In addition to the loss of human life, Emilia-Romagna, one of the richest regions in Italy which alone contributes nearly 10% of the national GDP, has suffered economic damage that is impossible to quantify precisely at this stage.
According to the farmers’ union Confagricoltura, at least 10 million fruit trees will have to be uprooted, a figure that could even reach 40 million.
More than 600 roads were still closed on Monday, the region having estimated this weekend that around 620 million euros were needed to restore the road network.
Schools in Ravenna reopened on Tuesday but those in the nearby town of Forli will not reopen until Wednesday, as roads are still impassable.
The President of Emilia-Romagna, Stefano Bonaccini, has called for an immediate freeze on mortgage loan repayments, taxes and levies for families and businesses in the most affected areas and in the longer term a comprehensive plan ” for the reconstruction, maintenance and security of the territory”.
According to experts, climate change due to human activity is increasing the intensity and frequency of extreme weather events, such as heat waves, droughts and forest fires, but also storms accompanied by heavy rains.
05/23/2023 15:10:38 – Rome (AFP) – © 2023 AFP
