Standing outside her home under moody skies in Ronta, a hamlet in the Forlì-Cesena area of Emilia-Romagna, Ivana Casadei considers herself lucky. "The water only came as far as our garden," she said. "But my neighbours' home was destroyed, so they are staying with us - there are eight of us living together, and five dogs." Emilia-Romagna remained on red alert this week after catastrophic flooding that claimed 14 lives and left more than 36,000 people homeless.
The emergency, which wreaked havoc across 100 cities and towns, prompted the prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, to return early from the G7 summit in Japan. A helicopter attempting to restore electricity to homes crashed close to the badly affected town of Lugo last Saturday, injuring one of the four people on board. "I cannot remain so far from Italy in such a complex moment," said Meloni.
Casadei's home was among the cluster that rescuers were unable to reach until Saturday, first because of strong winds that thwarted dinghies and then because of a landslide that snapped a road in two.
One of her neighbours killed in the flooding was Marinella Maraldi, whose body was swept 19km down the Savio River before being found in Cesenatico, a beach along the Adriatic coast.
Maraldi's husband, Sauro Manuzzi, also died, leaving behind their only daughter. "Marinella and I gave birth around the same time," said Casadei.
This story is from the May 26, 2023 edition of The Guardian Weekly.
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This story is from the May 26, 2023 edition of The Guardian Weekly.
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