Italy: More than 23,000 still out of homes after floods

Rome: More than 23,000 people in northeast Italy were still displaced on Monday almost one week after heavy rains sparked widespread flooding and left 14 people dead, officials said. Most are staying with friends or family although almost 2,700 are being housed in hotels, schools, gyms and other centres laid on by local authorities, the Emilia Romagna region said.

Six months of rain fell in just 36 hours early last week, causing almost two dozen rivers to burst their banks, transforming streets into rivers and submerging huge tracts of farmland. The clean-up has begun in some areas but others remain under water.

Efforts began on Monday to restore an Internet connection to hospitals, public offices, schools and people in isolated areas. The region said it had started to distribute 100 Starlink terminals from Elon Musk´s SpaceX in the areas around Ravenna. Agricultural lobby Confagricoltura said at least 10 million fruit trees will have to be uprooted, and possibly as many as 40 million.

More than 600 roads remained closed on Monday, with the region estimating at the weekend that more than 620 million euros was needed to rebuild the water-logged road and transport network.

Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni returned early from the G7 summit in Japan to visit some of the worst hit areas on Sunday, and is expected to hold a cabinet meeting on Tuesday to unblock emergency funds for the region.