The storm this week led to dozens of landslides in hilly areas and severe flooding in the plains, while rough seas battered coastal areas of the region, Mr. Antolini said. “In this moment, we’re facing millions in damages” to homes, agriculture, bridges and roads, he noted.
“There’s a lot of work that must be done,” he added. “This has been a huge catastrophe.”
Flooding is a complex phenomenon with many causes, including land development and ground conditions, scientists say. While linking the climate crisis to a single flood event requires extensive analysis, the human-caused changes, which are already leading to heavier rainfall in many storms, are an increasingly important part of the mix. Warmer atmosphere holds, and releases, more water, whether in the form of rain or heavy winter snowpack.
The record rainfall that led to devastating floods in Germany and Belgium in the summer of 2021 was made much more likely by global warming, scientists have determined. Climate change also probably worsened extreme rains during back-to-back storms in southeastern Africa in early 2022, experts say, although a lack of high-quality weather data for the region has made it difficult to pin down how much.
Mr. Antolini of the geologists’ guild said that extreme weather events — including heavy rainfalls — had become increasingly common in his region. “Scientific references say we are heading toward climate change, so it’s time to start thinking about the actions that we should be doing,” he said. “We have to learn from these situations.”
Mr. Musumeci, the civil protection minister, said that the decision to evacuate thousands of people from flood-hit areas was essentially “a preventive measure.”
Speaking during a radio interview, he added, “It is clear that a much more careful reconnaissance” had to be done on levees and hydraulic systems to deal with the recurring impact of heavy rains that, in the past few years, have followed long periods of drought.
“It’s clear that we have to adopt a very different approach than what we were used to,” he said.
A Formula 1 motor race that was to have been held in the Emilia-Romagna region was canceled because of the rains and flooding.
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