Italy counts costs after extreme weather lets up

(ANSA) - Rome, November 18 - Italy was counting the cost of damage caused by recent extreme weather, particularly in northern regions, as the sun returned to some of the worst-hit areas on Tuesday.
    Government Secretary Graziano Delrio estimated the price to the State of the weather damage at between three billion euros and four billion euros, and said there would be exemptions on local and regional budget constraints for areas hit by the emergency.
    "We have prepared a budget that reduces the (budget constraints) with local authorities by 70%," he said.
    "We will now give particular attention to those municipalities facing extraordinary expenses," he added.
    "Those that have money in their coffers will be able to spend it," Delrio said ahead of a meeting of the EU's General Affairs Council in Brussels.
    There, the balance between budget constraints set out under the European Stability and Growth Pact and the necessity of helping needy populations is expected to be discussed.
    "It is obvious that emergency intervention and reconstruction are absolutely necessary and the (European) treaties provide for solidarity," he concluded. The comments came as the sun returned to the northern regions of Lombardy, Piedmont and Liguria.
    There, farmers association Coldiretti put the damage to agriculture caused by the recent torrential rainfall and mudslides in the northwestern coastal region at an estimated 30 million euros.
    The calculation included "landslides, roads that have been wiped out, drywalls that have collapsed, flooded fields, greenhouses that have been destroyed, crops that have been lost, from vegetables to potted herbs, from daisies to basil," said Coldiretti.
    It added that "prized vineyards were also in danger".
    And in spite of the respite Tuesday from the bad weather, problems remained. In the northeast Italian region of Friuli Venezia Giulia, railway connections between Cervignano and Udine were disrupted by a landslide.
    In Emilia Romagna, authorities were on pre-alert, watching rising water levels in the Uniti river basin.
    Further south in the central Tuscany region water levels were also being monitored and there were reports of flooding around Pisa and of a landslide in Versilia.
    And on Tuesday morning there were disruptions and fallen trees due to a violent storm in the Ciociaria area of southern Lazio.