Almost a week after the passage of Mediterranean cyclone Harry, a state of emergency has finally been declared in Sicily, Sardinia and Calabria, regions severely brought to their knees by the extreme meteorological event (which was ignored by the national media and by the political and institutional world, with a few exceptions).
The three respective governors Renato Schifani, Alessandra Todde and Roberto Occhiuto took part in the Council of Ministers. In total, a fund of just 100 million euros has been allocated to be divided between the three Regions and will be spent to deal with the very first interventions provided for by the Civil Protection Code.
How long does the state of emergency last and how will it proceed in the Regions
The state of emergency can last 12 months and can be extended for another 12, as required by the Civil Protection Code.
“The first 100 million euros are essentially used to cover the first expenses incurred by the municipalities, i.e. the removal of debris and the restoration of the functionality of some essential services – declared the Minister for Civil Protection Nello Musumeci – As soon as a detailed picture of the damage arrives from the Regions we will be able to proceed with the further allocation which will instead be used for reconstruction”.
In the next few days, the Government will have to adopt an inter-ministerial measure to begin the restoration and reconstruction of the numerous damaged infrastructures, in particular along the eastern coast of Sicily, as soon as the detailed survey of the damage in the three Regions is defined.
As regards the reconstruction activities, they will be coordinated by the respective regional presidents, appointed today as delegated commissioners with broad powers of exemption.
This step is just the beginning of a long (and difficult) reconstruction. At the moment the 100 million euros appear to be a negligible figure compared to the catastrophic situation facing Southern Italy, considering that for Sicily alone the first estimates speak of over a billion euros.
