‘City on its knees’: 5 dead, Imola F1 Grand Prix cancelled after floods hit northern Italy

CESENA, Italy – Five people died and thousands more were evacuated from their homes after heavy rains caused devastation across Italy’s northern Emilia Romagna region, while this weekend’s Imola Grand Prix has been cancelled, officials said on Wednesday.

“The city is on its knees, devastated and in pain,” said Mr Gian Luca Zattini, the mayor of Forli, a city near Bologna where three people died. “It’s the end of the world.”

Two of the bodies in Forli were recovered by divers on Wednesday morning, as part of a huge rescue effort involving emergency services and the armed forces.

“Overall in Forli there were three victims, one in Cesena and one in Cesenatico”, which could be a German man previously reported missing, a local authority official told Agence France-Presse.

Emilia Romagna, which is one of Italy’s richest regions, had already been hit by heavy rain just a fortnight ago, causing floods that left two dead.

This time, around 50cm of rain fell within 36 hours in Forli, Cesena and Ravenna – around half the normal annual rainfall, a situation “with few precedents”, Civil Protection Minister Nello Musumeci said.

“It is still a very critical situation,” he told reporters, adding that while the rain was still falling, it was expected to lighten during the day.

The flooding caused the cancellation of the Formula One Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, which had been due to take place in Imola on Sunday.

Organisers said they could not guarantee the safety of fans, teams and staff.

“It would not be right to put further pressure on the local authorities and emergency services at this difficult time,” they said.

‘We’re scared’

Rescue workers had worked through the night to save children, the elderly and the disabled from the rising waters.

“We’re scared, this time we’re scared,” said Ms Simona Matassoni, the owner of the Hotel Savio in Cesena, which has so far escaped flooding.

“I was born here, I’ve seen lots of full rivers, but never anything like this,” she told AFP by phone, adding that it was still raining.

“At the moment we’re crossing our fingers… but another flood is expected, so who knows (what will happen).”