On 30 January 2024 we took part in a public meeting on the topic of the flood in which the Mayor of Riolo Terme, Federica Malavolti, and the Mayor of Casola Valsenio, Giorgio Sagrini, participated. Marco Bacchini was present for the Agency for Territorial Security and Civil Protection of Emilia Romagna, while for the Reclamation Consortium of Western Romagna, Rossano Montuschi.
We intervened with some questions, asking what we kids could do to prevent these events from happening again: Bacchini responded by saying that the kids must be passionate about and get to know their territory because if you know which areas are safe and which ones can have problems when you grow up you can think of solutions to deal with the difficulties. The Mayor of Riolo, however, told us that we must also give importance to the territories that are close to us in order to have a broader vision; Furthermore, understanding what our soil and our Senio river are like could give us a hand for an ever better future.
Asking questions is important because you understand a lot about the area you live in: we thank all the participants in the assembly for giving us this information because there is always something to learn.
We then interviewed a flood victim from our town, Mrs. Alessia Lazzerini.
As soon as you saw so much rain invading your house, what did you immediately think?
“I thought about the meaning of the word “Apocalypse”: in that moment I understood the true meaning of this term”.
When you saw that the water was rising inexorably in a few minutes, did you have time to save your family?
“Yes, we did it, it wasn’t easy, we had to be clear-headed; we took some change, a toothbrush, a bag with documents, a charger and cell phones.”
Who made it safe first?
“We ran away together, we helped each other, I got one cat and my husband got the other.”
Once you realized that your house was flooded, what sensations did you feel?
“A feeling of loss and failure because in that moment we saw all our sacrifices destroyed.”
We kids think that the flood is an “ugly beast” that brings destruction, but we like to be positive: thanks to this event we were able to meet and talk to several people, even just while we were cleaning the mud to help someone in difficulty or sharing any what could be useful. This united us: in that moment, in fact, we were all equal and all subjected to the power of nature. One of the most beautiful things that that period made us understand is how much people can cooperate with each other to achieve a common goal and, believe us, this is not at all obvious. We also understood that you cannot fully understand a situation until you experience it. Furthermore, this negative event has made us love our territory even more, which we will try, in our small way, to protect and make shine again.
Ester Tronconi, Rossella Di Gilio, Lorenzo Dalle.
Class 1A, ‘Giovanni da Riolo’ secondary school, Riolo Terme
Prof. Lorenzo Sbarzaglia
Tags: Riolo Terme situation flood
