From Monday, May 15 through Wednesday, May 17, 2023, the Emilia Romagna region in northern Italy experienced a torrential rainfall event that dumped an average of 200 millimeters (just under eight inches) of rain across the affected area over a period of just 36 hours. Some of the worst-hit parts received up to 500 mm (just under 20 inches) over the same timeframe.
The rainfall began to let up on Thursday, but the devastation wrought by the combination of heavy rain and drought-stricken earth that isn’t able to absorb it is, at this point, incalculable according to many in the region. Thousands of residents were forced to evacuate, with Emilia Romagna region president Stefano Bonaccini estimating on May 18 that around 3,500 had evacuated from the city of Bologna, with a total of 20,000 or more having evacuated from the affected area.
