Attachments
Glide Number: FL-2023-000080-ITA
What happened, where and when?
Following an initial warning, the first event occurred at the beginning of May 2023 when harsh meteorological conditions have caused localised floods and land-slides. The response was managed at the local and regional levels.
A second warning was issued on 14 May 2023, marking the start of the national response and putting the Early Warning Early Action (EWEA) protocol in place. The 200 mm of precipitation in the first days of May resulted in an approximately 350 million cubic metre of water flooding a territory of 800 km2, affecting 100 municipalities. The overflow of 23 rivers, with another 13 with alarming increase of water levels, further caused thousands of landslides, 376 of them causing severe devastation. Mainly due to the landslides, 15 people have lost their lives, while 23,067 people are being evacuated. The majority of those waiting for evacuation are in the Ravenna area (16,445), with 4,462 in the province of Forlì-Cesena, and 2,160 in the Bologna area.
2,694 citizens are welcomed in the hotels and accommodation structures, such as schools, sports halls, and gyms, set up by the municipalities. Other people are reported to have found alternative accommodations in their second homes, or at houses of friends and relatives (2,094 in the Ravenna area, 351 in the Bologna area, 243 in the Forlì-Cesena area, and 6 in the Rimini area).
Scope and Scale
In a span of 6 days, from 01 May 2023 to 17 May 2023, there were two consecutive events in Emilia-Romagna that resulted in a total of 80 hours of rainfall. After the first event, managed at the regional and local levels, applying the contingency plans previously defined, and closed a second, out-of-scale event, happened.
From 15 May 2023 to 17 May 2023, there were intermittent showers and thunderstorms, with moderate rainfall and a maximum recorded values of 52.5 mm/hour in Riccione Urbana and 35 mm in Cattolica, particularly in the Rimini area. The most intense precipitation affected an area of approximately 800 kilometers, including the eastern parts of the hilly and mountainous territories of Bologna, Ravenna, and the western part of Forlì-Cesena, with cumulative totals exceeding 400 millimeters. In an area of about 300 square kilometers in the Cesena and Ravenna Apennines (Casola, Brisighella, Modigliana, Dovadola), cumulative totals exceeded 500 millimeters. The highest recorded rainfall, reaching an astounding 609.8 millimeters, was registered at the Trebbo monitoring station in the Lamone basin (municipality of Modigliana): 254.8 mm during the second event (15 - 17 May 2023).
An estimate, considering the limitations of necessary approximation, reveals the staggering amount of gross rainfall that flowed into the Reno basin and the Romagna basins: a cumulative total of 450 millimeters of rainfall over an area of 800 square kilometers, equivalent to approximately 350 million cubic meters of water.
There have been 379 landslides in 57 municipalities, with 672 road closures, including 414 complete closures, leaving parts of the rural area isolated. There are 23,000 evacuees distributed among Ravenna, Forlì, Bologna, and Rimini. In Conselice, due to the particular geographical situation, the community has been hit three times. Strong intervention is also needed in Faenza, where water has reached the second floor of some houses.
The rural population has been the most affected. Romagna is predominantly an agricultural region with a rich network of waterways, and the widespread flooding has damaged both homes and productive capacities, as well as transportation routes, aqueducts, gas pipelines, and service infrastructure.
The Regional Civil Protection Authority is working on a complete damage assessment. The state of emergency is extended to 80 municipalities (governmental list available and attached).
Only in Cesena 1,617 families have suffered damages by the flood. In detail, there are 773 reports of damage to homes and other owned premises (cellars, garages, warehouses); 1,507 concern movable property, with reference to home furnishings and household appliances; 695 instead cars and vehicles heavily compromised by the waters of the river.
Over 3,000 houses have been damaged in Ravenna area (Budrio, Faenza, Lugo and Ravenna).
There are almost 21,000 farms present in the area involved, 49% of the entire region, over 29% (6,000) are present in municipalities with floods and 19% (about 4,000) in those with landslides.