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FLOODS

How you can help people affected by flooding in northern Italy

As the cleanup operation continues after floods killed 14 people and ravaged the northern Emilia Romagna region last week, here’s how you can support those affected.

Published: 18 May 2023 17:03 CEST
Updated: 25 May 2023 10:00 CEST
Man carrying child on his shoulders in a flooded street in Italy
Cleanup operations continue in Emilia Romagna after extreme flooding killed 14 people and devastated vast urban areas last week. Photo by Federico SCOPPA / AFP

Last week, Italy’s northeastern Emilia Romagna region was hit by extreme floods which killed 14 people and displaced over 36,000.

As clean-up efforts continue, local authorities and emergency services have set up channels to raise funds for those affected by the events.

READ ALSO: Italy unveils €2 billion package for flooded northeast

At the moment, the best way to support people in flooded areas is by making a donation directly to Emilia Romagna’s Civil Protection Agency. 

After many reached out “to lend a helping hand, and even make donations”, the region’s president Stefano Bonaccini announced last Thursday the creation of an ad hoc fundraising campaign for “people and communities hit by the flooding”.

The details (IBAN and BIC codes) of the bank account associated with the campaign are available here. 

All donors are advised to include “Alluvione Emilia-Romagna” (‘Emilia Romagna flooding’) as the reason for their donation. All funds and their use will be made public by regional authorities, the organisers say. 

READ ALSO: Over 23,000 people still without a home after northern Italy floods

Should you be looking to make donations to a specific area, some town halls have set up independent donation channels. 

To donate to the city of Faenza – which once again took the brunt of the flooding after it was one of the worst-affected areas in the early May floods – see the following web page. 

You can also donate to the city of Imola by following these online instructions and to the entire Modena province via the bank account available here.

Residents in flood-hit Emilia Romagna

Local authorities and emergency services such as the Italian Red Cross have set up channels to raise funds for those affected by the floods. Photo by Federico SCOPPA / AFP

Italy’s Red Cross (Croce Rossa), which was one of the first emergency services to offer assistance in the region, has also launched its own fundraising campaign. Donations can be made directly on the organisation’s website but are currently only available to people with an Italian codice fiscale (‘tax code’).

Specchio dei Tempi, a long-standing non-profit organisation founded by Italian newspaper La Stampa, also accepts online donations in support of the flood-hit areas. An Italian codice fiscale is not required in this case.

Besides monetary donations, there are other ways you can help if you live close to the flooded areas. 

If you’re looking to donate food, medicines or clothing, you can get in touch with Emilia Romagna’s Protezione Civile by calling 800 024662. The hotline is available every day from 8am to 8pm.

Finally, there are a number of social media accounts, including the following Facebook group, where people from flooded areas post requests for help of all sorts, from essential goods to temporary accommodation for their pets.

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WEATHER

IN PICTURES: ‘Exceptional’ Sahara dust cloud hits Europe

An "exceptional" dust cloud from the Sahara is choking parts of Europe, the continent's climate monitor said on Monday, causing poor air quality and coating windows and cars in grime.

Published: 8 April 2024 14:15 CEST
IN PICTURES: 'Exceptional' Sahara dust cloud hits Europe

Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service said the latest plume, the third of its kind in recent weeks, was bringing hazy conditions to southern Europe and would sweep northward as far as Scandinavia.

Mark Parrington, senior scientist at Copernicus, said the latest event was related to a weather pattern that has brought warmer weather to parts of Europe in recent days.

“While it is not unusual for Saharan dust plumes to reach Europe, there has been an increase in the intensity and frequency of such episodes in recent years, which could be potentially attributed to changes in atmospheric circulation patterns,” he said.

This latest episode has caused air quality to deteriorate in several countries, Copernicus said.

The European Union’s safe threshold for concentrations of PM10 — coarser particles like sand and dust that that can irritate the nose and throat — has already been exceeded in some locations.

A picture taken on April 8, 2024 shows a rapeseed field under thick sand dust blown in from the Sahara, giving the sky a yellowish appearance near Daillens, western Switzerland. – An “exceptional” dust cloud from the Sahara is choking parts of Europe, the continent’s climate monitor said, causing poor air quality and coating windows and cars in grime. (Photo by Fabrice COFFRINI / AFP)

The worst affected was the Iberian Peninsula in Spain but lesser air pollution spikes were also recorded in parts of Switzerland, France and Germany.

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Local authorities in southeastern and southern France announced that the air pollution threshold was breached on Saturday.

They advised residents to avoid intense physical activity, particularly those with heart or respiratory problems.

The dust outbreak was expected to reach Sweden, Finland and northwest Russia before ending on Tuesday with a shift in weather patterns, Copernicus said.

The Sahara emits between 60 and 200 million tonnes of fine dust every year, which can travel thousands of kilometres (miles), carried by winds and certain meteorological conditions.

The Spanish Canary Islands off the coast of northwest Africa saw just 12 days within a 90-day period from December to February where skies were free of Saharan dust, the local weather agency Aemet had reported.

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