However, the situation remained critical in many places, and on Monday 879 firefighters, including 696 reinforcements, were still engaged in rescue operations: 244 in the province of Forli and 326 in Ravenna.

To date, firefighters have carried out 4963 interventions since the start of the emergency: 1148 in Bologna, 2089 in Ravenna, 1362 in Forlì Cesena and 364 in Rimini.

In Forlì, 26 people had to be evacuated from a residential building on Sunday night after a sinkhole opened up as a result of the flooding.

Meanwhile, the regional chapter of farmers’ association Coldiretti launched a fundraiser on Monday to support farmers and agrifood businesses affected by the flooding and landslide emergency.

“The fields are still under water, landslides have devastated the territory, and thousands of companies have suffered very serious damage, when they have not disappeared altogether,” regional Coldiretti president Nicola Bertinelli said.

“In all this, so many of our members and their families still fear for their safety,” he added.

Schools, museums and libraries are reopening in Cesena as a hiatus in the rainfall and the gradual receding of the floodwaters allows a return to normality for some. (Photo: ANSA)

The government, meanwhile, is to present an initial support package for businesses in Emilia Romagna, including the suspension of mortgage payments, tax payment plans and the activation of the European guarantee fund, Business and Made in Italy Minister Adolfo Urso said on Monday.

The provisions are to be included in the broader package of emergency relief measures to be examined at a cabinet meeting on Tuesday.

Urso added that Italy should be able to activate the guarantee fund for “the maximum amount allowed under EU rules on state aid”.

The government is also reportedly studying an exemption from work for civil servants who are unable to perform their duties even by remote due to the flooding.

The period of exemption would constitute service performed for all legal purposes, and it would not fall under the 45-day-per-year allowance for special leave.

While for some the worst of the floods is over, the situation remains critical in many places, with firefighters and reinforcements still engaged in rescue operations in provinces like Forli and and Ravenna. (Photo: ANSA)

More than 3000 buildings in and around Ravenna have been hit by the devastating floods, according to data collected by the Rapid Mapping Team of Copernicus Emergency Management.

The team is the European service that is activated in the event of disasters or emergencies to quickly make available satellite images collected by Copernicus, the Earth observation programme managed by the European Space Agency and the EU Commission.

On Monday the team published the analyses for the Lugo, Faenza, Budrio and Ravenna areas, with the mapping of flooded areas and damaged buildings.

Apparently fresh resources for the disastrous and deadly Emilia-Romagna floods will come from lotteries and car auctions, Deputy Economy Minister Maurizio Leo said on Monday.

To tackle the emergency, which has killed 16 people since the start of the month, the government is thinking of resources from additional lotteries and from the proceeds of car auctions seized from organised crime, Leo told Restart on Rai2, recalling that a decree law will be presented to cabinet on Tuesday.

ANSA