Italy is hit by catastrophic floods that occur once every 100 years

Reviews of weather events, natural disasters, astronomical phenomena and wildlife around the world Catastrophic floods have hit Italy, as well as neighbouring France. Most regions of the country have been affected, including the north, central Italy and the south. The northern region of Emilia Romagna has suffered the most damage. There, an estimated 20,000 people have lost their homes in the disaster, which has caused 23 rivers to burst their banks and engulf 41 towns. Flooding and landslides have left major roads, including the A1 motorway, blocked. Firefighters have carried out 3,000 rescue operations across the region and in parts of the Marche region, which has also been hit by floods. Stefano Bonccini, the president of Emilia Romagna, compared the destruction to the earthquake that hit the region in 2012 and estimated losses at several billion euros. The floods have destroyed homes and shops and left more than 6,000 farms underwater, according to Coldiretti, Italy’s largest agricultural association. A shopkeeper in Faenza who sells kitchen equipment told the Ansa news agency that he had never seen anything like it, and neither had anyone else here. Pierluigi Randi, president of the Ampro weather experts, told La Repubblica that this was the worst flooding in Italy in a century. Before the floods, Emilia-Romagna and other parts of northern Italy suffered a long drought that had parched the land, reducing its ability to absorb water. Then, in parts of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy, half of the annual average rainfall fell in just 36 hours, causing rivers to burst their banks. Extreme weather events have been on the rise across Europe in recent years. And if 2023 was a season of heat waves and catastrophic droughts, 2024 will be a season of rain and equally catastrophic floods. Experts say Italy’s geography makes it particularly vulnerable to climate disasters. Its varied geology makes it prone to flooding and landslides, while rapidly warming seas on either side make it vulnerable to increasingly powerful storms as temperatures rise. #Italy #flood #Europe