“We were working against hydrogeological instability, Conte closed the facility overnight” – Corriere.it

Erasmo De Angelis, you coordinated the mission structure for the fight against hydrogeological instability.

«Yes, it was called “Safe Italy”, it was created by the Renzi government, it also lasted under the Gentiloni government, Conte closed it down”.

How was it composed?

«It was made up of 16 expert technicians all coming from public administration, civil protection, ministries. It was created to outlast governments which last an average of 1.4 years. It was created from an idea by Renzo Piano. The twenty regional presidents appointed as commissioners were also part of the structure ».

What have you done?

«We worked for four years and created an “Unblock Italy” governance that unblocked hundreds of small construction sites. In 2015 we launched the three largest European flood defense construction sites. The largest in Genoa, 500 million to widen the section of the tunnels under Genoa, where the Bisagno river has been filled up since the beginning of the century. Same project for the Seveso in Milan and for the Arno in Florence. In Italy there are twenty kilometers of rivers and streams buried under the cities. If we had intervened in Bologna, Ravone would not have exploded».

Why didn’t you attend?

«When Giuseppe Conte came to government, the mission structure was closed, from one moment to the next. Completely cancelled: in one night the computers, the servers disappeared, especially the portal where there was all the information».

And what happened?

«That 8.4 billion remained hanging that we had carved out to implement the national plan. When Draghi came he put them in Pnrr. But they’re still there.”

What were they for?

«To build expansion tanks, embankments, drainage of watercourses, the containment of landslides. Italy is the country with the most landslides in the world. To understand: 750,000 landslides have been recorded in Europe, 628,000 of which in Italy. Emilia Romagna, then, is the area most at risk for hydrogeological instability. Out of 8 million Italians at risk, 3 are in Emilia. You can’t argue about these things.”

What do you mean?

«That politicians can argue about everything, but not about this. We are in an emergency, climate change does not allow us to get lost in political rebounds ».

And so what? what to do?

«Make a pact between the parties, a truce, an agreement. Building a technical structure at Palazzo Chigi».

Restore “Italia Futura”?

“Let’s call her ‘Pippo’, whatever you like. But the important thing is to do it. It is a matter of life but also economic. On average, it takes 4 billion to repair the damage. But in Emilia Romagna also 10. What happened there marks a before and after in environmental catastrophes».

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