Another emergency, one year later. Romagnaexactly twelve months ago: on May 19th Giordano Feletti, 79 years old, lost his life Faenza. She was the fourteenth victim and after him there would be another, bringing the count to fifteen.
Fifteen lives shattered by the flood that hit our region, from Imola to Cesenapassing through Castelbolognese And Faenza.
Today, 365 days after that tragic week, is theEmily to wake up in the same conditions: streets became rivers, flooded basements, overflowing streams, mud in homes and that sudden need to roll up one’s sleeves, typical of Emilia-Romagna people. For this reason, late yesterday evening, the Regional Agency for Territorial Security and Civil Protection launched the damage recognition for the declaration of a regional state of emergency.
We are not here to count the missing because what we find ourselves talking about is not a flood, but rather the storm, relatively short but of unprecedented intensity, which hit the heart of Emilia on Monday, touching the provinces of Modena, Bologna and partly too Parma And Piacenza. Instead, we are talking about the heavy damage suffered by businesses and homes and the memories of a lifetime – paintings, postcards and books – erased by the mud. But we are also talking about the furniture piled up in front of the gardens of the houses, together with televisions, boxes, appliance cabinets and suitcases.
In Savignano and Vignola
Formica, hamlet of Savignano sul Panaro in the province of Modena, for example, she woke up in the mud. It is the Modena epicenter of the storm, it is here where over 150 millimeters of rain fell on Monday evening, it is here where the torrent overflowed Rio d’Orzo, it is here that the mayor Enrico Tagliavini launched a desperate appeal on his social channels inviting residents to seek safety on the upper floors of the houses. Yesterday morning, we went there, to Savignano, in the hamlets of Mulino and Formica.
The water entered the houses, destroying memories and even household appliances: there is no electricity left in any house and people have poured into the streets. Rubber boots on the feet and gloves on the hands, then the inevitable shovels and brooms. “Let’s try to save what can be saved,” say the residents between Via Mincio and Tavoni. Here the doors of the houses are open: they let us inside and for a moment it seems like we have returned to that May 19, 2023; it feels like we’re back in Romagna. Many of the residents have images of those dramatic days in their eyes.
There are the grandchildren who lend a hand to the grandparents, then there are the marks that the water has left on walls and walls – over a meter in some places – and there are also the firefighters with the water pumps to remove what it has become slime from garages, cellars and the ground floors of houses. However, there is no electricity, but there is, indeed, that sense of responsibility and that desire to help the neighbor: it is palpable. After all, the Emilia Romagna people are like that. TO Vignola (we are still in the Modena area) the situation has resolved more quickly: we see flooded basements, it’s true, but fortunately there is no trace of the mud and the roads are all perfectly passable.
From Bologna to Piacenza
We move a few kilometers and enter the Bologna area. Among the most affected areas is the municipality of Valsamoggia: yesterday the aqueduct that had caused the interruption in the supply to was reconnected Serravalle Castle and the critical issues in Bazzano have also been resolved. The Samoggia torrentdespite having exceeded the “three” threshold, did not need to invade Budrie’s coffers.
The storm (and consequently the damage) also affected, as mentioned, the Parmawhere the stream flooded Unlucky in Talignano, a fraction of the municipality of Sala Baganza. The water invaded some homes, while a sea of mud was created in the courtyards. TO Fornovoalways in the province of Parma, there are around twenty people evacuated due to temporary inability to reach their homes. Flooding of some underground areas also in the municipalities of Fornovo and Salsomaggiore Terme.
Already back Riccò, Scodogna and Rio San Michele streams. Finally, in the province of Piacenzawhere in the early hours of yesterday the Arda exceeded the peak flood level of threshold “three” (although without causing particular critical issues), flooding was recorded due to difficulties in disposing of drains and sewage in some underground areas in the municipalities of Cadeo, Podenzano, Cortemaggiore Caorso and Piacenza.
