Local authorities are foreseeing economic losses in the billions of euros related to floods in Italy due to the massive disaster, while the insurance industry is expected to bear a smaller portion of the overall cost due to an existing protection gap for flood coverage, as stated by Aon.
Damage assessments remain ongoing as multiple water courses still exceed flood stages. Additional rainfall is also expected in the coming days and the situation thus remains critical and more evacuations were announced on May 19.
Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Austria, and the Czech Republic have also experienced flooding, resulting in submerged buildings, power outages, and minor material damage.
- About 5,000 people were evacuated from their homes and at least five were killed after torrential downpours hit the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna, prompting catastrophic flooding across at least three dozen towns.
- Responders are searching for people still trapped by floodwaters, with news footage showing residents getting airlifted out of flooded buildings and rescue teams transporting people in dinghies through submerged streets.
- Italian Civil Protection Minister Nello Musemeci said that some areas received an average of 200 millimeters (7.9 inches) of rain in only 36 hours, while other areas recorded 500 millimeters (19.7 inches) during that time.
Given the extensive scale of the disaster, local authorities are already anticipating economic losses in the billions of EUR. As a significant protection gap for flood coverage remains in place, impact on the insurance industry was expected to be a smaller percentage of the total cost.
Torrential rainfall and flooding have severely affected the regions of Emilia-Romagna and Marche in Italy. As of May 19, there have been 14 confirmed fatalities and several missing individuals.
Over 10,000 people have been forced to leave their homes, with significant displacement in the provinces of Bologna, Forlì-Cesena, and Ravenna. Firefighters have conducted more than 2,175 emergency missions, and approximately 400 roads have been closed due to flooding.
About 5,000 people were evacuated from their homes and at least five were killed after torrential downpours hit the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna, prompting catastrophic flooding across at least three dozen towns.
Responders are searching for people still trapped by floodwaters, with news footage showing residents getting airlifted out of flooded buildings and rescue teams transporting people in dinghies through submerged streets.
Italian Civil Protection Minister Nello Musemeci said that some areas received an average of 200 millimeters (7.9 inches) of rain in only 36 hours, while other areas recorded 500 millimeters (19.7 inches) during that time.
More than 20 rivers have burst their banks across the region, causing more than 280 landslides, according to the Civil Protection department.
The torrential downpour followed a long period of drought in the region. Drought conditions, which have grown worse as the climate changes, reduce the capacity for the land to absorb water and as a result leads to more severe flooding.
Although no rainfall is expected on Thursday, the Emilia-Romagna region has confirmed a red alert over the whole of Romagna, the plains of Bologna and Modena and the mountain hills of central Emilia and Bologna for continued flooding, the department said.
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