Northern Italian region starts dealing with aftermath of floods

The Italian government announced plans to allocate €20 million to the region of Emilia Romagna after flooding devastated the region. 

The announcement was made by Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni on Friday. 

“As soon as the request for the declaration of a state of emergency by the Emilia Romagna region reaches the government, a cabinet meeting will be called to allocate 20 million euros to meet the initial needs and to restore essential services, and further allocations will be made available at the outcome of post-emergency reconnaissance,” she said in a statement. 

An emergency meeting is scheduled for Saturday. 

Heavy rain and flooding in the region caused more than 1,000 people to be evacuated, with Traversara among the worst affected villages. 

Local mayors asked people to stay on the upper floors or leave their houses. 

Flooding has also affected other European countries like Poland and the Czech Republic. 

In the Klodzko region of Poland, army and locals are clearing debris from the streets following the extreme weather. 

The scale of destruction was significant and in places like Ladek Zdroj and Stronie Slaskie, telecommunications were disrupted by the flood. 

Work also began in previously flooded cities in the Czech republic to clean up streets and houses. 

Many houses in the Czech city of Krnov were rendered inhabitable after water rose more than two metres high. 

Flooding in Europe reportedly caused 24 deaths and the EU promised billions in emergency repair funding following discussions with leaders from Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Austria.