Rescue workers and security forces were last night on maximum alert in the region of Emilia Romagna, preparing to evacuate families in areas close to the river Po which continues to be dangerously flooded following the torrential rain of the last week, mainly in the Alpine regions of Piedmont and Val d'Aosta. The death toll stands at 24 with five people still missing.
Whilst the state of emergency in the Alpine regions has eased off after three rain-free days, the potential danger zone has now moved eastwards as it follows the river Po's meandering journey across Northern Italy from Piedmont to the Adriatic. The rains that fell in the last week have seen the Po reach dangerously high levels, prompting fears that it may break its banks and prompt further serious flooding and consequent loss of life.
In a dramatic example of the problems faced by local authorities, engineers were last night using hydraulic jacks to raise a railway bridge at Pontelagoscuro, just north of Ferara. With the swollen Po having risen to within inches of the level of the bridge, it was decided to raise the bridge 30 centimetres for fear that debris being washed down might become blocked against the bridge, thus forming a highly dangerous, impromptu dam.
Although more than 40,000 people have been evacuated this week, mainly in the Val d'Aosta and Piedmont regions, the majority of residents along the banks of the eastern Po had last night chosen to stay in their homes.
A further crisis point in the flooding related emergency will come this evening and tomorrow as the flood waters hit the Po Delta. According to the Italian Confederation of Industry, the floods have already caused damage estimated at £400 billion.