BOLOGNA (ITALPRESS) – Flood runoff along rivers in Romagna, particularly the Lamone, Senio and Santerno, and the Reno basin continued slowly but steadily throughout the night. This morning, no watercourse in Romagna exceeded the red threshold anymore, but caution is kept at full alert as hydrometric levels remain high, above threshold two. The most critical points, such as the Lamone passages in Mezzano and Villanova di Bagnacavallo, in the Ravenna area, were monitored all night on site by Civil Defense operators, Law Enforcement, volunteers and employees of specialized cleanup firms for emergency response actions and removal of materials accumulated by the waters.
THE SITUATION IN TUSCANY
In addition, the night’s rainfall filled the waterways in the hilly sections, slowing down the depletion downstream and in the plains. So, the regional Civil Protection machine, assisted by mobile columns from Veneto, Lombardy and Friuli Venezia Giulia, in close liaison with the national department, continues to be active. Just as the Regional Operations Center in Bologna, which has been coordinating operations for 48 hours now, will continue to be open. Cor where Regional President Michele de Pascale and Undersecretary Manuela Rontini have been following the progress of the situation throughout the night.
Of greatest concern is the tightness of some of the embankment sections in the lowlands, which have been heavily stressed by floods in recent months and the subject of urgent work in the recent past. As well as it is expected that the rain will continue today, in a scattered and irregular manner, mainly on the central-western sector of the region, moving from the mountains to the plains. No critical situations are reported in the Bologna area.
Massive amounts of rain have fallen, up to 200 millimeters in Marradi, Lamone basin, comparable to previous floods. Extraordinary rainfall insisting on soils already soaked and saturated by the rains of the past months, the region points out.
“Attention on the rivers remains highest but no overflows or levee breaks have been recorded. A situation that has remained under control also thanks to the works carried out in the last two years: more than 300 construction sites completed after the dramatic flood of May 2023, mainly of embankment rebuilding and consolidation, new floodplains and floodplain revivals. Just as crucial were the more than 30 works carried out after the floods, particularly in the metropolitan city of Bologna, in the fall of 2024: these, too, allowed for a better management of what happened,” the Region’s note further reads.
Starting tomorrow, once the water level drops, operations will begin to clean the banks and riverbeds of trees that have come downstream. Maximum commitment of the Civil Defense system, starting with the volunteers: yesterday 240 people worked divided into 57 teams, today 146 out of 30 teams. The evacuees taken in charge are 53, all in the Bologna area, including 35 people between Imola and Casalfiumanese.
– IPA Agency photo –
(ITALPRESS).
