After the terrible May 2023, another flood is heavily affecting cities and cultivated fields in Emilia Romagna. Once again, the most damaged areas are those of the province of Ravenna, followed by Forlì and partly Cesena. For horticultural crops, entry into the field for harvesting could be prevented, with consequent loss of the product.
Emilia Romagna is under water again: red alert for bad weather, which is causing a lot of damage due to cyclone Boris, which, after hitting Central-Eastern Europe, has hit many areas of Emilia-Romagna, including fruit and vegetable areas. After the terrible flood of May last year, the region is plagued again by flooded rivers, landslides and torrential rains that have been relentless for a couple of days. Among the most affected towns is Modigliana, in the province of Forlì-Cesena, where the flooding of the Tramazzo torrent is frightening, while the Senio River has flooded in Castel Bolognese (Ravenna), the Marzeno has invaded Faenza, also flooded by the Lamone. The situation is also critical in the Bologna area.
Over a thousand people have been displaced throughout Emilia Romagna.
Red alert until Friday 20 September
“The situation is constantly evolving, but the red alert issued by the Emilia-Romagna Region and the Civil Protection, valid until midnight on September 20, does not leave us calm" declared the president of Confagricoltura Bologna Davide Venturi. "In addition to the submerged fields, which will remain flooded for days even after the end of the bad weather, there is the risk of landslides and mudslides in the hilly and mountainous areas".
“The greatest damage, at least for the moment, is concentrated in the north-east area of Cesena, in the plain that descends towards Cesenatico and the Basso Rubicone, in the countryside of San Mauro Pascoli and Savignano" underlines Matteo Brunelli, vice president of Confagricoltura Forli-Cesena and Rimini and president of the Cesena Consulta.
Soybeans, tomatoes and chard are most at risk
"Soybean, tomato and beet crops will probably be the most penalized”, Venturi continues. “Soybean, 90% of which is still to be harvested, risks seeing a drastic reduction in production. Tomatoes, already tested by an unfavorable season due to excessive heat that has compromised their yield, cannot be harvested for several days due to the impassable terrain. This will a so negatively affect the quality of the harvest. Beets still in the field will suffer a drop in polarization with a direct impact on the quality and revenues of producers." The rain is also set to negatively affect soil processing in view of the next sowings, which could be postponed, The harvest is also hampered by bad weather but as soon as the conditions are right it is ready to start again.
Alberto Mazzoni, vice president of Confagricoltura Forli-Cesena and Rimini and president of the Forli Council, highlights that "these rains are highlighting the fragility of the territory: in the last 24 hours more than 150 mm of rain have already fallen in the Forli area, there are consortium channels coming out, like in Villagrappa, which are flooding roads and fields".
“Dramatic situation in some affected areas”
Same places, same companies, same damage: “In Romagna the situation is tragic and is experiencing a return to the past, with towns such as Cotignola, Bagnacavallo, Forlì, and Faenza that are in critical situations, where even the Montone River has overflowed again. The restorations that had been completed in many cases have to be redone, with huge losses of money and production for next year, not to mention the damage to crops still in progress such as sugar beets and processing tomatoes. In short, this is also a year to forget”, comments Stefano Francia, president of Cia- Agricoltori Italiani dell'Emilia Romagna.
Even trade associations do not hide their concern about what is happening in these hours. At Coldiretti Emilia Romagna, many hectares of flooded arable land and orchards and several hill roads blocked by landslides have already been reported.
The Coldiretti federation of Forlì-Cesena is carefully monitoring the very serious weather situation that has been ongoing since Wednesday, throughout the province. The severe weather has caused enormous inconvenience in the territories already severely hit by the flood of 2023 and is causing further damage in areas that had been saved from the previous disaster.
Montone River Break in Forlì Area
"The Montone river embankment broke in Forlì, at the same point as in 2023 - says Massimiliano Bernabini, president of Coldiretti Forlì-Cesena - the violence of the waters is causing very serious damage in the surrounding countryside and in agricultural companies, including agricultural companies, which have fields flooded by a quantity of water ranging from 80 to 100 cm. Agricultural companies have been flooded, as well as warehouses, equipment and rural buildings. We have started a monitoring and support action for the countryside that will soon provide us with a clear picture".
Flooding is no longer 'exceptional', it must be managed by implementing a structural plan to safeguard the territory that is wide-ranging, capable of quickly dealing with disastrous situations for the community and businesses. This is what Confagricoltura says, underlining how urgent a serious feasibility study is for the hydraulic system of natural and artificial watercourses.
In the meantime, Confagricoltura technicians are constantly monitoring the critical areas through a thorough survey of the damage suffered by agricultural companies. The sector has been severely affected: vineyards and orchards are submerged, with trees laden with fruit yet to be harvested (grapes, pears, apples, kiwis), in addition to vegetables in the field, in particular the late varieties of processing tomatoes and sugar beets.
The Confederation recalls that Emilia-Romagna is the second fruit and vegetable producing region in Italy, with 180,000 hectares cultivated and represents, in terms of volume, 15% of the national production. The region is in third place at the national level for grape production (7.97 million quintals) and in second place if we talk about grapes for table wines. It produces 1.8 million tonnes of processing tomatoes out of the 5.5 million total in the country and from the Emilian sugar beet basin today comes the majority of the sugar made in Italy.
For Giancarlo Minguzzi, president of Fruitimprese Emilia Romagna, “it is too early to estimate the damage. Certainly, the tomatoes left on the plants will also have to be discarded. It will take a few more days to make more precise estimates. However, the period in which this latest flood occurred is less critical than that of May 2023 from a production point of view. But now we must hope that the bad weather gives us a break".
Sources: informatoreagrario.it, corriereortofrutticolo.it, freshplaza.it
