Italy: Floods claim lives and cause enormous damage to farms – thousands of hectares of crops flooded

“We’ve lost a colleague, an acquaintance, a friend. The loss of life is the worst result of the catastrophe that struck Cesena and the regions of Emilia-Romagna and De Marche [in Italy] on May 16,” Matteo Evangelisti, Biondi Giulio’s manager, told FreshPlaza on Wednesday. This cultivation company has a stall at the Cesena wholesale market, where Sauro Manuzzi was a mainstay. Everyone knew this aromatic herb seller. His wife, who went missing first, was also found lifeless in Cesenatico, 20 km from their farm. The state of emergency is still in effect in Italy. The area around Lugo began flooding early yesterday morning, May 18. “In the hills of Romagna, entire villages are isolated because the roads have been washed away. People have no electricity or water. The civil defense department is trying to reach them,” says Matteo.