Storm Boris floods northern Italy as EU leaders to discuss aid in Poland

Italy’s Emilia-Romagna region sees three rivers overflow after Boris wreaks havoc across Central and Eastern Europe.

About 1,000 people have been evacuated in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna after devastating floods brought by Storm Boris that had wreaked havoc across Central and Eastern Europe.

The development came on Thursday before a meeting between the leaders of four flood-hit European Union countries – Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Austria – and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in the southwestern Polish city of Wroclaw.

Boris caused the worst flooding in more than 20 years from Romania to Poland over the past week, killing at least 24 people before moving west.

In Italy, schools were closed and rail services were suspended in several provinces on Thursday.

In the town of Lugo, near Ravenna, authorities ordered the evacuation of all ground-floor residences, after the local Senio river broke its banks.

“We are in a full emergency,” the mayor of Ravenna, Michele De Pascale, told the Radio 24 broadcaster.

An aerial view shows the flooded area of Bagnacavallo as severe weather triggers floods in Emilia-Romagna [Vigili del fuoco/Handout via Reuters]

Irene Priolo, the acting president of Emilia-Romagna, told RAI public radio that 250mm (9.8 inches) of water had fallen in some areas and three rivers had overflowed.

The national fire department said it carried out more than 500 rescue operations in Emilia-Romagna, including with helicopters.

Floods and mudslides were also affecting the neighbouring regions of Tuscany and Marche.

EU mechanism

Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer said the EU “must use and expand the instruments that have been created for disasters like this. I will call in Poland for the activation of the EU Civil Protection Mechanism.”

The Czech Republic has already requested the activation of the mechanism to receive aid.

Nehammer said the summit in Wroclaw would also discuss “an even better coordination of flood protection measures”.

In Poland, several towns and villages have been devastated by the floodwaters which have demolished houses, brought down bridges and heavily damaged road and rail infrastructure.

In some areas, residents still lack drinking water and electricity.

Grassroots funding initiatives have been organised across the country as local authorities begin to assess damage.

The Polish government says it has unblocked 2 billion zloty (470 million euros or $523m) of direct aid to people and localities affected by the floods.

Austria has said its disaster relief fund will be increased to 1 billion euros ($1.1bn) to help flood victims.

Experts say human-induced climate change is increasing the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events such as torrential rains and floods.