Emilia-Romagna bad weather: President Bonaccini appointed delegated commissioner

The Head of the Civil Protection Department, Fabrizio Curcio, signed Ordinance No. 992 with to appoint the President of the Emilia-Romagna Region, Stefano Bonaccini, as Commissioner Delegate for the management of the emergency state as a result of the adverse weather conditions that, starting last May 1, affected the territory of the provinces of Reggio-Emilia, Modena, Bologna, Ferrara, Ravenna and Forlì-Cesena, providing an initial discipline of the most urgent activities.

The Commissioner, who can rely on the 10 million euros allocated by the Council of Ministers, has the task of defining a plan with the first and most urgent measures and interventions to ensure, where necessary, relief and assistance to the population, to remedy situations of danger to public and private safety, to carry out measurements, including aerial inspections, with the aim of analyzing the evolution of the situation with particular attention to landslides and collapse, to restore the functionality of public services and infrastructure of strategic networks, to manage the rubble, debris, plant material, flooding of excavated soil and rock and to ensure administrative continuity in the affected territory, including interventions of a temporary nature.

To carry out all these activities, the Commissioner may identify Implementing Bodies and may make use of regional, provincial and municipal structures and offices, and central and peripheral state administrations.

The ordinance authorizes the Commissioner to allocate to family whose main, habitual and continuous house has been destroyed, in whole or in part, or has been evacuated in execution of measures of the competent authorities, a contribution for autonomous accomodation. This contribution amounts to 400, 500, 700, 800 euros per month for families composed of one, two, three, and four people. For family units consisting of five or more people, the contribution is 900 euros per month. In case there are people over 65 years old in the family, or handicapped or disabled people with a disability rate of not less than 67 percent, an additional contribution of 200 euros per month is granted for each.

A procedure for the suspension of outstanding mortgages in the affected areas, defined on the basis of an agreement with the Italian Banking Association (ABI), is also provided for in the ordinance, as is usual in cases of national emergencies.