«A year ago in Romagna we witnessed a double flood event with unprecedented impacts and territorial scope: 23 rivers flooded, tens of thousands of hectares flooded, more than a thousand landslides, hundreds of roads interrupted which produced 8.5 billion damage, 36 thousand displaced people and 17 victims. According to Arpae data, the cumulative rainfall in the first 15 days of May and in particular in the two episodes of 2-3 and 16-17 May exceeded 400 mm, more than half of what should rain in a year. The volume of water that fell was calculated at 4.5 billion cubic meters. They are completely exceptional volumes that no territory could support, but whose effects were amplified by the narrowing of the river beds and the reduction in the storage capacity of the land, both due to overbuilding and soil compaction and the loss of the minor drainage network . We are faced with a striking manifestation of the risks deriving from the climate crisis associated with an urban and infrastructural development that has not taken into account the hydro-geological vulnerabilities of the territory» is the comment of Nicola Dall’Olio candidate of Green Left Alliance for the European elections in the north-east constituency.
«Risks which, if we do not intervene with rapid adaptation actions and a stop to waterproofing and settlements in landslide and flood-prone areas, will only increase given the ongoing acceleration of global warming. Since May last year there have been the 10 hottest months ever recorded, with deviations that in our area have consistently been several degrees above average. However, it must be remembered that in the aftermath of the flood, many government officials tried to blame the flooding of 23 rivers and the landslide of over 1,500 landslides on saplings and environmentalists, i.e. those who have been raising the alarm about the crisis for decades climate and ask for a different and more rational management of the territory. Reversing reality and looking for a target of convenience is the sport of a certain right without shame, continuing to deny the reality of the climate crisis so as not to put the brakes on concrete and settlement anarchy is irresponsible; in doing so, the real causes are not addressed and the conditions for the recurrence of disasters are maintained» argues the EVS candidate.
«It is the planned flood that the environmentalist Antonio Cederna wrote about already in the 1970s. But then the climate crisis had not yet manifested itself. Today, however, we are faced with extreme phenomena that repeat themselves with increasing frequency and intensity. The estimated return times of 200 years risk becoming 50 if not 20. And what appears exceptional to us becomes the new normal. This requires us to radically change the methods of land management and hydraulic safety, to act urgently on the adaptation front and to reach zero of our climate-changing emissions as soon as possible. Any diversion and delay from these objectives will only lead to higher future damage bills, when the current bill still remains 90% to be paid by the government» concludes Dall’Olio.
