CASTEL BOLOGNESE, Italy: Floods that killed nine people in Italy's northern Emilia-Romagna will cost billions of euros, with agriculture hit hard after fields were swamped, the regional governor said on Thursday.
"The scale of the devastation caused by the bad weather is like another earthquake," Stefano Bonaccini, president of the Emilia-Romagna region, told the Rai 3 public television channel.
According to the Coldiretti agricultural association, more than 5,000 farms were left under water in the region, which includes Italy's so-called "Fruit Valley", and which suffered extensive damage from an earthquake in 2012.
The government is expected next week to earmark an extra $22 million for Emilia-Romagna, on top of 10 million euros already allocated in response to previous floods in early May.
This week, thousands were evacuated from their homes after torrential rain battered an area between the city of Bologna and the city of Rimini on the Adriatic coast. More than 20 rivers burst their banks, triggering floods and hundreds of landslides.
The body of one of the victims was found on the beach in the town of Cesenatico, having been swept 20 km from her home by the flood waters.
Sunday's Formula One Grand Prix in Imola, which is close to many of the worst-hit areas, was called off to relieve pressure on emergency services, while a Bruce Springsteen concert in Ferrara later on Thursday was set to go ahead as planned.
Residents of the town of Castel Bolognese, close to Ravenna, were left to sweep away water and mud on Thursday morning.
"It was just terrible to see," said shopkeeper Enrico Rotoni. "Quite a few things have been ruined but we need to keep going," he added.
It was the second time this month that Emilia-Romagna has been battered by bad weather, with at least two people dying during storms at the beginning of May.
The torrential rain followed months of drought which had dried out the land, reducing its capacity to absorb water, meteorologists said.
The mayor of Ravenna, Michele De Pascale, announced that residents of about a half dozen towns could return, but warned them "to exercise the utmost caution".
Cracks in river embankments still posed a risk to other areas, which were being closely monitored, he said.
The dead included a couple believed to have been hit by a wall of water as they went to check on their aromatic herb farm.
The body of the woman, in her 60s, was pulled 20 kilometres by rushing waters to the beach in Cesenatico, according to SkyTG24.
There was little significant rainfall on Thursday and only light rain expected on Friday, though authorities said the high level alert for rivers remained.
Two people died in the same region earlier this month after two days of almost continuous rain. "We had an estimated two billion (euros) of damages two weeks ago... the ground no longer absorbs anything," Stefano Bonaccini, president of the Emilia Romagna region, told La7 television channel late on Wednesday. — Reuters/AFP
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