Bad weather: Zaia, open crisis unit and state of emergency

VENICE, 16 MAY – Crisis unit opened due to bad weather and declaration of a state of emergency, with the start of the reimbursement procedure and access to national funds. This was decided by the president of Veneto, Luca Zaia, after the wave of bad weather that has affected the region since yesterday, initially hitting the lower areas of Padua and then especially the Vicenza and Veronese areas. No victims or particularly serious situations have been reported. Yesterday evening, Zaia announced, all six flood retention basins between the Vicenza and Veronese areas were opened, which were half full “and avoided the disaster – said the governor – especially in Vicenza . The hydraulic system worked once again.” “We have no memory of an event like this in May – underlined Zaia – We are in objective difficulty”. In the last few hours there has been an attenuation of the phenomena “but the forecast models – said the regional councilor for Civil Protection, Giampaolo Bottacin – say that it is not over and there will be an important front in the eastern part, especially in the provinces of Belluno and Treviso. For this reason we are in contact with the neighboring regions, Friuli Venezia Giulia and Trentino Alto Adige”. (HANDLE).