Flood in Emilia-Romagna, damages for 8.9 billion

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Just under 9 billion in damages, 8.9 billion to be exact: this is the first provisional estimate of the disaster, destined to grow, that the flood has left behind in Emilia-Romagna, according to the report that the president of the On June 15, the Region Stefano Bonaccini presented to the Government, on the occasion of the first meeting at Palazzo Chigi, the permanent table between the Executive and the local authorities, coordinated by the Minister for Civil Protection, Nello Musumeci.

Of these almost 9 billion, 20%, or 1.8 billion, concern urgent interventions already started in recent weeks or to be put in place to deal with the emergency. “These are resources that are needed immediately, necessary to repair the levees, hydrographic networks and roads before the autumn, to secure communities from the recurrence of catastrophic events such as those of May”, underlines the governor, reiterating the need to accelerate the times for the coverage to arrive.

Bulldozers blocked

The first 230 million made available by Rome have in fact already all been spent and in several flooded municipalities the bulldozers at work have been blocked because there is a lack of financial coverage. «The restart and the reconstruction must advance together, an organic planning of the interventions is needed, for this reason it is urgent that the Government acts quickly on the appointment of the Commissioner for the reconstruction. Whoever believes decides – says Bonaccini – but we need it as soon as possible because the reconstruction must start now, not in a year, and without resources and special powers the construction sites will not start or stop “.

Refunds to households and businesses

At the same time, the regional delegation that went down to Rome yesterday asked to guarantee 100% refunds and certain times for families and businesses. «In agreement with the Civil Protection we have started the process to get the first 5 thousand euros quickly, with an initial advance of 3 thousand already by mid-July, but now more than 500 million are needed for companies, for the first advances of 20 thousand euros» Bonaccini points out.

The mayor of Ravenna, Michele de Pascale, echoes this as he leaves this first interim meeting, worried about the scarcity of resources allocated so far for the flooded areas, the lengthening of times and the failure to appoint a commissioner: «I think that the government is making a serious mistake, not only in not using the three regional presidents (as it did for the 2012 earthquake), but in not even assuming the responsibility for making any other decision,” says the mayor.