The rains of recent days have caused flooding in much of the Emilia-Romagna region in Italy. Swollen by water, rivers and streams have overflowed, flooding the countryside and turning city streets into waterways. Sadly, there are already nine fatalities and about 20,000 displaced people.

Yesterday, Notizie Avventiste reached pastors from Adventist churches in Forli and Cesena by phone to find out how they are doing.

Forli

"It's a disaster in Forli; you can't get in or out," began Giovanni Caccamo, pastor of the Adventist communities in Bologna, Forlì, and Modena. "There are some church families who have suffered flooding on their properties."

Pastor Caccamo, who lives in Bologna, added, "I am having a hard time getting in touch with some of the families because of the internet and phone service disruptions, so they are also a bit isolated. And, of course, we are also worried."

He continued, "I would like to go to Forli, but at the moment, it is impossible. Water has invaded the highways, and the toll booths are closed. In addition, there are roads cut off due to landslides and mudslides.”

When asked about the Adventist-run Casa Mia Retirement Home, Caccamo said, "Thank God, they are fine there. That area is less affected, and so there is less water. They also have suction pumps."

Cesena

The fury of water from the Savio River flooding has invaded streets and homes in Cesena. Pastor Roberto Iannò, of the Cesena Adventist Church, recounted the situation: "The families in the church were not particularly affected. One family had partial flooding of their garage, but by now it has been cleared of water and mud. Another family had flooding of their basement. In a hillside situation, a church member is monitoring the situation but is currently out of danger. Otherwise, apart from a lot of apprehension and concern about the situations we see around, we have not experienced any problems."

Help After the Emergency

“The Adventist Church has already received a mandate from the church committee to get in touch with the civil protection authorities and other institutional bodies to present the availability of the Adventist church in Cesena to make available our premises (in synergy with the national office of ADRA) and our volunteer work," Pastor Iannò added.

The municipality of Cesena already sent a request for collaboration in some very specific areas. The Adventist Church will offer its collaboration in agreement with the Cesena Civil Protection.

The original version of this story was posted on the Inter-European Division website.