Two people are missing and about 1,000 people have been evacuated from their homes after devastating floods and landslides hit the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna, prompting accusations that Giorgia Meloni’s far-right government lacks the will to confront the climate crisis.
The torrential rain in Italy engulfed the same areas of Emilia-Romagna hit by flooding in May 2023 that killed 17 people and caused €8.5bn (£7.14bn) of damage.
Italy is among Europe’s climate risk spots. This summer alone it has endured unprecedented heatwaves, drought, wildfires, storms and severe flooding.
The flooding was brought on by Storm Boris, which had earlier wreaked havoc in central and eastern Europe, killing at least 24 people. Several major cities in central Europe were bracing for swollen rivers to peak on Thursday but defences generally appeared to be holding.
Visiting one such city, Wrocław in Poland, the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, announced €10bn in cohesion funds for member states left with “heartbreaking” devastation from the flooding.
Von der Leyen, who met the prime ministers of the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Austria to discuss aid for the region – which has been hit by five times the average rainfall for September in five days – said the first €10bn of aid would be available immediately.