ROME (Reuters) – Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni visited flood-hit areas of northern Italy on Sunday after returning early from the G7 summit in Japan to lead the response to the disaster.
Meloni’s plane landed around lunchtime in the Adriatic city of Rimini and she began to visit towns in the Emilia-Romagna region where the floods have killed 14 people and caused billions of euros worth of damage.
Around 36,000 people have been forced to leave their homes, and many of those who remained in flooded areas were left without electricity. Agriculture has been hit hard in an area which grows fruit such as peaches, kiwis and apricots, as well as corn and grain.
The rain had stopped on Sunday and rescue teams and local volunteers were trying to pump out buildings and sweep away mud caking the streets before it could set hard under the sun.
Meloni had left the Group of Seven (G7) summit in Hiroshima a day earlier than scheduled, saying her conscience would not allow her to stay away longer.
The Italian government will hold a cabinet meeting on Tuesday to decide on measures to help people to cope with the emergency.
(Writing by Keith Weir; Editing by Alexandra Hudson)
