‘It’s shameful and I won’t pay it’: flood-hit Italians rage against insurance call

It was 2am when the parish priest, Giovanni Samorì, was woken by a phone call from the mayor of Traversara ordering him to start ringing the church bells. The traditional call now forms part of the civil protection procedure deployed by many Italian towns. Its aim: to warn residents of impending calamity.

As torrential rain pounded the village, Samorì sprang into action, a task he compares to "sounding the death knell". It worked: the evacuation of Traversara's 480 residents was swift and, despite the priest's foreboding, there were no deaths.

But, a few weeks on from the flooding of 19 September, when the northern Italian region of Emilia Romagna was struck by its third devastating storm in less than 18 months, the destruction of Traversara is clear. The hamlet, on the banks of the Lamone River about 40 minutes from the regional capital of Bologna, has been all but wiped out.

In its place has come a fraught but urgent debate about insurance coverage for losses from climate-related catastrophes, which until now has remained an unfamiliar concept for most Italians. Italy has become known by scientists as one of Europe's climate risk hotspots and is beginning to reckon with the widespread implications of extreme weather to livelihoods and the economy.

Currently just 6% of homes are insured against natural disasters , and 5% of businesses. That, says the government, needs to change.

In Traversara, residents are coming to terms with the brutal reality of their losses. Muddy, waterlogged land is all that remains of an area that contained a cluster of homes that were directly in the path of the powerful torrent of water that flooded the town after the river overflowed its banks. Other homes are filled with debris.

Cristina Baccarini is waiting to hear whether her parents' home, which was also damaged by flooding in May 2023, needs to be demolished because of its now-fragile foundations. A bed and radiator protrude from the smashed outside wall of the bedroom where the elderly couple were sleeping.

They were rescued by helicopter after climbing up to the balcony on the building's first floor. Baccarini's father, 91, has dementia and is recovering in hospital from a fractured femur. Her mother is staying with a relative.

"My parents are effectively homeless," said Baccarini, trying not to cry. "The house was insured but not for flooding – we tried, but because we were flooded last year we couldn't obtain cover."

The government has proposed making it obligatory from January for businesses to be insured against natural disasters, a move that has proved particularly unpopular in areas most at risk. There were also hints at extending it to households.

Among the areas in most danger is Emilia Romagna, one of Italy's wealthiest regions, where some of its best known food is produced and businesses are based. It is paying the heaviest price for severe flooding.

In May 2023, 17 people died in two rounds of floods, when the banks of 20 rivers overflowed and engulfed dozens of cities and towns, causing more than 300 landslides. More than 20,000 people were displaced, while the cost of the damage was estimated at €8.5bn.

Damage from the recent floods, which badly affected several towns, especially in the province of Ravenna, has not yet been quantified.

But according to the assessments of people in Traversara, the effects have been far worse.

Piera Alboni and her husband, Daniele, lived next door to Baccarini's parents. The pensioners, now staying with a cousin, had only just finished repairing the damage caused by last year's flooding, paid for with their savings, when the storm in September struck.

Alboni was born in the same house and said she is in "a limbo of uncertainty" over whether she will be able to return. "It has totally ripped away our roots and security – you cannot live peacefully," she said. The couple's home is covered for explosions caused by fires, but not flooding. "But what happened here was essentially an explosion," she said.

Anger is seething in the region, where people feel they have been left alone to deal with the consequences. Homeowners and businesses who incurred damage in last year's floods each received €5,000 to cover the costs. An online platform called Sfinge was then set up to allow people to request further reimbursements, but many users gave up, saying the system was difficult to navigate and they were made to jump through hoops to claim even small amounts.

Their plight is over-shadowed by a blame game between the leftwing regional authorities and Giorgia Meloni's far-right government, which in September claimed the former had spent only €49m of the €130m allocated last year to build flood defences. A further €20m was allocated after the recent floods.

The European parliament has approved more than €1bn of aid for countries affected by natural disasters in 2023, with Emilia Romagna poised to receive €378.8m and Tuscany €67.8m.

But residents have little faith in their institutions' ability to get the money to where it needs to go.

As for the obligatory insurance measure, there are fears it could cause businesses to flee while deterring future investment.

"The situation in Emilia-Romagna is very serious and we need to pay attention because it is clear that flooding is only going to become more frequent," said Roberto Bozzi, president of Confindustria business association for the Romagna area. "At this point, it is obvious that we need to be investing in works that will limit the risk. We need a long-term vision and not just quick-fix solutions."

Bozzi employs about 500 people at Vulcaflex, a company that makes products for the automotive industry, in Lugo, an industrial town close to Traversara. He said the extreme climatic events also risked depopulation. "I had workers in tears as they had only just fixed their homes after last year's flooding and now they have to do it again," he said. "It is also becoming increasingly difficult to find staff willing to come and live in the region – who wants to risk having their homes under water?"

In nearby Faenza, which was severely damaged by last year's flooding, many businesses have closed. Davide, owner of a paint and hardware shop, said he will follow suit if there is another major deluge. "The whole shop was submerged [in the May 2023 flooding]. I paid to fix the damage myself and now they say I have to take out insurance, without them making the region more secure? It's shameful and I won't pay it."