Thousands of evacuees, rivers flooding the streets of residential areas, margins that no longer contain the flow of water. The nightmare of floods returns to Emilia-Romagna. Also for tomorrow, the red alert remains in Romagna and Bologna, following the heavy rains that have hit the region in recent days and caused flooding, landslides and flooding. The alert – in force from today until midnight tomorrow – is orange on the plains of Modena and on the hills and mountains of central Emilia. The provinces of Bologna, Cesena, Forlì, Ravenna and Rimini have been affected: hundreds of people displaced after the evacuations.
Where the red alert remains: the zones
“The red alert remains today and will remain tomorrow for the basins above threshold 3. We will have to understand with the functional center if it is also necessary to extend to certain basins which at that time were in the orange threshold: therefore not necessarily those. we have seen today, but those who are at threshold 3, perhaps in the Modena area, if it is necessary to move to red alert for the exit from the flood peak”, said the interim president of the Emilia-Romagna Region, Irene Priolo. “In the afternoon we will understand after the alert which territories will continue to have school closures and which ones, also in light of the evolution, will not be able to close school buildings – underlines Priolo – Obviously, we have several people to evacuate, where we have had floods, we will try to do everything possible to return to normal very quickly. Where we have had landslides, we will try to understand how to overcome critical problems. “
A thousand people displaced
A thousand displaced people in Emilia Romagna. 165 families evacuated in the Bologna area. The Serio river flooding Castel Bolognese. And the floods that continue in the streets of Faenza. Bad weather causes flooding in the region while weather warnings worsen, river levels are frightening and mayors are calling for evacuations in the most affected areas. Last night, in Modigliana (Forlì-Cesena), the river flooded the city. Mayor Jader Dardi said that the waterway “exploded” and urged citizens to avoid traveling and to take refuge on the upper floors. The Idice and the Montone basin are under observation. Train traffic is suspended between Forlì, Faenza and Ravenna. In Budrio, the stream burst its banks.
Modigliana and Castrocaro
The interim president of Emilia-Romagna, Irene Priolo, states that “the most critical situations are in Modigliana and Castrocaro. We will have a downstream flow so we will have to be very careful with the Lamone basin in Faenza. The situation is particularly critical also in the Bolognese region, we must be careful with the Idice basin, the connected Savena basin, but also the Sillaro. The situation is complex in Forlì, where the Montone flood will arrive. In Castel Bolognese, the situation of the Senio river is worrying, while in Tebano the river level has reached the red threshold of 5.5 meters. The evacuation of citizens residing in homes near the river has been ordered. A reception center has been set up within the Palazzo delle Sporti. Schools will be closed today.
Budrio, Bologna and Forlì
In Budrio, in the metropolitan city of Bologna, the Idice torrent is in flood. Meanwhile, on social networks, images of the flooding of the Tramazzo and Acerreta rivers are circulating. Some areas of the city near the river are flooded. The rivers, we can still read in some citizen posts, “have reached a level higher than that of May 2023”, when the area suffered widespread flooding. In Bologna, the level of the Savena stream has risen. The municipality has ordered the closure of local schools and evacuated buildings in the San Ruffillo-Lungosavena area. In Rocca San Casciano, the inhabitants of some houses affected by landslides were evacuated by the Drago helicopter.
Even in the Forlì area, the situation is getting worse and forecasts that strongly excluded the flooding of the Montone are changing rapidly, said the mayor of Forlì, Gian Luca Zattini, in a video on Facebook. “In the areas near the Montone river, citizens, especially those who suffered from the flood of 2023, must go up to the highest floors, be aware of the possibility of a serious event, think first of their own safety and health, and try to get what they can. The forecasts are not certain, they are constantly changing, but from midnight to 4-5, extremely serious phenomena cannot be ruled out.”
Ravenna, Cesena and the Lamone Valley
Ravenna Prefect Castrese de Rosa says the situation in the city is critical: “The level of the rivers is very high and worries us. We are monitoring several of them and I am recommending to citizens not to go out into the street, not to take the car, to go up to the upper floors. In the Romagna region of Faenza there are over 800 evacuees, guests of the reception centres, we are waiting for tomorrow morning to check the severity of the landslides and mudslides that have occurred on the hills”. The mayor of Cesena Enzo Lattuca says that the Savio river is beginning to decline. “There was a peak in the San Carlo area at 10:30 pm”, then upstream the level began to drop. And “what we can expect is that in the next two hours the river water in the urban area will experience a first drop”. The firefighters say that in the Lamone valley “accumulations of over 300 mm have been recorded in the last 48 hours. The rainfall will continue until tomorrow afternoon. Unfortunately, this further increases the flow of the river, causing a further rise in hydrometric levels.”
Faenza, Castel Bolognese and the Senio
In Faenza, the water is flooding via the Ponte Romano. According to Meteo Emilia Romagna, in the last few hours, more rain has fallen in Romagna than the flood of 2023. After overflowing shortly before 11 p.m. at the Steccaia dam, the waters of the Senio are flowing down towards the centre of Castel Bolognese, in the province of Ravenna. “The embankment has no break but the overflow continues”, explains the mayor Luca della Godenza on Facebook. Which renews the invitation to “stay at home”, to “immediately go to the upper floors” of the houses and to keep informed on the official channels of the Municipality” (Facebook and WhatsApp). “At the Palazzetto – writes the mayor – the Tuscan mobile column reached us and helped us also on 2 May 2023”.
The trains
Traffic is still suspended between Forlì and Faenza, between Ravenna and Castelbolognese, between Ravenna and Ferrara and between Ravenna and Faenza due to critical weather conditions that cause a risk of river flooding. High-speed, intercity and regional trains “may experience route limitations or cancellations and be routed on the alternative route. It is advisable to reschedule the journey”, Trenitalia reports.
The Upper Mugello
In the meantime, critical problems are widespread due to the bad weather in the Upper Mugello (Florence) linked to some landslides. The Civil Protection of the Metropolitan City of Florence invites citizens not to travel to and from the municipalities of the Upper Mugello such as Firenzuola, Palazzuolo Sul Senio and Marradi, “except in the case of absolute and urgent necessity”. In the meantime, for today, Thursday 19 September, the Municipality of Marradi has ordered the closure of schools of all levels, while the schools of Firenzuola and Palazzuolo sul Senio will be open regularly. The Metrocity reports in particular that yesterday afternoon there were heavy accumulations in the area: “The high saturation of the soil has led to the triggering of some landslides on the metropolitan and municipal roads. The Sp 20 and Sp 29 of the municipality of Marradi and some municipal roads are currently closed. There are also significant critical problems on provincial roads beyond the regional borders.”
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