Italy invests 1 billion euros in flood prevention

The Italian government has approved a budget to address the extraordinary flood risk in northern Italy. For the regions of Emilia-Romagna, Tuscany, and Marche, a total budget of 1 billion euros is authorized for the implementation of a flood prevention programme for the years 2027 to 2037. The programme was approved on April 30, 2025 by the Italian Council of Ministers.

The presidents of the regions of Emilia-Romagna, Marche, and Tuscany are responsible for the implementation of the work in their own regions. In 2023 northern Italy was hit by severe floods, and since then a series of damaging floods occurred regularly. In April 2025 north Italy were the latest floodings and this has accelerated the adoption of a new law (ALLEGATO Il nuovo decreto-legge) that extends the law that was adopted after the floods in 2023.

The region Emilia Romagna

The Emilia Romagna region announced 15 new emergency interventions to tackle hydrogeological risks. Since then, there has been a flurry of activity regarding post-flood reconstruction. Projects range from the expansion of the Baganza stream basin near Parma to the stabilisation of the southern slope of the San Leo cliff in the Rimini area, and the restoration of embankments and coastal defences in Lido delle Nazioni Nord, Comacchio.The region is also addressing landslide risks and expanding retention basins, both key to managing floods in rivers and streams.

Delays following the 2023 floods

The interventions in Emilia Romagna come against a backdrop of criticism over delays in post-flood recovery efforts in the region. In May 2023, Emilia-Romagna suffered a catastrophic flood that killed 17 people and caused € 8.5 billion in damages. A year later, the region was again affected by severe weather, with Cyclone Boris triggering widespread flooding in November 2024, and in 2025, again risks on severe floodings emerged.

According to a regional report cited by Corriere della Sera, only one-third of the 402 hydrogeological protection works planned after the 2023 flood had been completed by mid-2024. Of those, 130 construction sites were finished, 158 were still underway, and 114 remained in the planning phase.

Criticism about slow pace of construction

The total value of these works stands at €343 million, part of a broader €2.5 billion recovery package allocated after the 2023 disaster. However, between 2014 and 2023, Emilia-Romagna had already received €600 million for hydrogeological safety, raising concerns about the slow pace of structural improvements.

One of the most vocal critics has been Minister for Civil Protection Nello Musumeci. In September 2024 he said, “If Emilia-Romagna could make the effort to let us know how many of these resources have been spent, I hope all or almost all,  if it would do us the courtesy of telling us which territories are still most vulnerable, which are those on which to intervene in a relationship of mutual and loyal institutional collaboration, we from Rome could plan further interventions under the ordinary regime.”

The €4.5 billion flood protection plan was only approved by the government’s extraordinary commissioner, General Francesco Paolo Figliuolo, in March 2024, with a revised version passed in July. This was too late to activate construction sites before the autumn rains returned.

Recent damages

In Faenza, a wall built after the 2023 flood protected the historic centre, but a temporary embankment nearby was swept away. In Budrio, families were evacuated for the third time in six years, as the same neighbourhood flooded once again. And in the Bologna area, the Idice river broke its banks just metres from where the Motta bridge collapsed in 2023. A study by Italy’s Institute for Environmental Protection (ISPRA) estimates 11% of Emilia-Romagna is at risk of damage from heavy rainfall and landslides. This threat endangers 1.6 million residents.

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