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Review
. 2023 Dec;38(6):813-817.
doi: 10.1017/S1049023X23006404. Epub 2023 Sep 27.

Health System Response to the 2023 Floods in Emilia-Romagna, Italy: A Field Report

Martina Valente  1   2 , Maicol Zanellati  3 , Giulia Facci  1   4 , Nicola Zanna  3 , Emilio Petrone  3 , Erika Moretti  3 , Francesco Barone-Adesi  1   4 , Luca Ragazzoni  1   2
Affiliations
Review

Health System Response to the 2023 Floods in Emilia-Romagna, Italy: A Field Report

Martina Valente et al. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2023 Dec.

Abstract

In May 2023, the Italian region Emilia-Romagna was hit by intense rainfall, which caused extensive floods in densely populated areas. On May 4, 2023, a 12-month state of emergency was declared in the region with the activation of response and recovery plans. This field report provides an overview of the health response to the floods, paying particular attention to the measures put in place to ensure care for displaced populations and raising interesting points of discussion regarding the role of the health system during extreme weather events (EWEs). The considerations that emerge from this report underline the need for a primary care approach to disasters, especially when these occur in areas with a high prevalence of elderly resident population, and underscore the importance of integration of different levels of care.

Keywords: Emilia-Romagna; disaster response; extreme weather event; floods; health system.

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Conflict of interest statement

Authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Map Indicating Affected Areas and Key Locations Mentioned in the Report.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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