'I won't pay it' Flood-hit Italians' fury at obligatory insurance plans

It was 2am when the parish priest, Giovanni Samorì, was woken by a phone call from the mayor of Traversara ordering him to ring the church bells. The traditional call now forms part of the civil protection procedure deployed by many Italian towns. Its aim: to warn residents of impending calamity. As torrential rain pounded the village, Samorì sprang into action, a task he compares to “sounding the death knell”. It worked: the evacuation of Traversara's 480 residents was swift and - despite the priest's feeling of foreboding - there were no deaths.

- Angela Giuffrida

A few weeks on from the flooding of 19 September, when the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna was struck by its third devastating storm in less than 18 months, the destruction of Traversara is clear. The hamlet, on the banks of the Lamone River about 40 minutes from the regional capital of Bologna, has been all but wiped out. In its place has come a fraught debate about insurance coverage for losses from climate-related catastrophes, which until now has remained an unfamiliar concept for most Italians.

Italy has become known by scientists as one of Europe's climate risk hotspots and is beginning to reckon with the widespread implications of extreme weather to livelihoods and the economy. Just 6% of homes are insured against natural disasters, and 5% of businesses. That, says the government, needs to change.

In Traversara, muddy, waterlogged land is all that remains of an area with a cluster of homes directly in the path of the torrent of water that came after the river overflowed its banks. Other homes are filled with debris.

Cristina Baccarini is waiting to hear whether her parents' home, which was also damaged by flooding in May 2023, needs to be demolished because of its now-fragile foundations. A bed and radiator protrude from the smashed outside wall of the bedroom where the elderly couple had been sleeping.