Severe weather in Sicily: President Giorgia Meloni addresses the Port Authority in Catania.

Well then gentlemen thank you for being here and so this morning I wanted to conduct a reconnaissance tour primarily by helicopter over the areas affected by the flood over the past few days culminating in a situation I'd like to update you on clearly including the President and Minister Musumeci as well as the mayors and prefects of the areas and territories most severely affected You know that we declared a state of emergency just two days three days ago State of emergency declared after holding an initial meeting with the Presidents of the three involved Regions At that point we declared the State of emergency emergency and appointed the Presidents of the involved Regions as commissioners for the emergency Clearly this also means that these commissioners will be placed and are partially already placed in a position to operate with the tools and resources and thus w The means necessary to meet the needs arising from the territories We have accompanied this statement w e state of emergency with an initial allocation of 100 million euros for I must tell you that I'm somewhat disappointed by the controversy especially here in Sicily because in the meetings we've held even before the The Council of Ministers together with the Presidents of the three involved Regions has thoroughly clarified that this was an initial emergency allocation o provide an immediate one-time contribution to citizens and businesses in order to allow us so to speak the suspension of mortgages to enable us to We urge mayors and local authorities to prioritize the necessary resources first No one thinks they can seriously tackle this issue with 100 millions of euros for three regions but I have already made this abundantly clear when it came to Emilia-Romagna often cited the decree that subsequently addressed in a comprehensive manner the region's needs The drama that had occurred in the region was no greater than the tragedy that had unfolded at that time Arrived after a few weeks—why Because at the current state for certain regions we don't even have the first attraction of the municipalities that have been established volved and when they initially settled in Emilia-Romagna we contributed less at first but clearly resources followed arrive but since when we spend money we must remember that they are The citizens' money not ours—this is work that must be carried out with utmost seriousness so we need all the information regarding what exactly it is In fact the amount of resources needed will arrive as always so I'll take this opportunity to provide some clarity Some controversies that I don't understand—whether they're because you know I'm always straightforward and perhaps being used as an excuse or not—but they're unnecessary since we're already rying to work out these answers and also the reason for today's meeting as clearly while we're working This mapping particularly of Sicily—the region especially affected—really appealed to us as well Keep in mind the individual so the work we've done this morning and also listen to administrators as well as prefects Let's say what is believed to be necessary to enable us to work in a more organized manner I took the opportunity to gift myself some foolish years I had flown over it and then ultimately decided to land to speak with the mayor as the situation there is particularly complex Objectively speaking seeing it in person is even more impactful than the images which are already quite powerful We've taken a situational overview w e mayor with civil protection opening and closing parentheses I want to tha Fabio Ciciliano praised the entire civil protection team for work that was objectively outstanding in terms of prevention given the plans that were put in place prevention has worked well and that is why we are where we are today Let's talk about rebuilding and not dwell on the victims so I believe that's the way to go given the extraordinary efforts of the civil protection service and of course also the speed with which all challenges are being addressed I was saying the situation in the camps is particularly complex this morning we focused mainly on the need to provide responses to about 1 500 current ones then it will become clear how many are definitive because as you know the landslide is still moving which is the hardest par This line of reasoning but certainly with Minister Musumeci we can say these cases are right on the edge of the precipice With Casa Italia we have the resources to act immediately but clearly the emergencies are the displaced people and road access It is particularly problematic because two out of every three provincial roads are essentially impassable today so a traffic access plan is currently being developed an alternative route using the old shepherd trails there are three schools in the red zone including elementary schools and asylum we would also like to try providing immediate responses here to restore as soon as possible a sense of normalcy to the citizens The issue with children attending school lies particularly with the energy network especially gas which is also currently a concern working here from the outset it's worth noting that civil engineering military engineering ANAS and private entities that have contributed their efforts also play a role availability on houses for example Citolance which has already provided its willingness to help in short everyone is getting involved there's a situation linked to livestock farming and thus the need to find a solutio method of watering animals particularly because clearly we're talking about a region where such activities constitute a fundamental part of the economy We are at a point where we are also striving to provide answers precisely where the situation stands complexity lies in the fact that as long as the landslide continues we are unable to define which part of this current red zone say 150 meters but clearly very precautionary that actually It's definitively established that work on securing and fully reconstructing the site cannot begin until this is resolved I strongly emphasized this matter this morning with my counterparts in an effort to get us back around the table as soon as possible to move forward We've set a meeting with the population within a maximum of two weeks hoping clearly that weather conditions will allow let's say especially the sand and clay drying out and thus settling the situation but clearly we are determined I am entionally designed to provide immediate responses you know better than me why this is the case The territory you live in which we call Niscemi is no stranger to such disasters and we say e public's sentiment regarding what occurred in 1997 w compensation that arrived after 14 years and definitively also after 28 years is something I now realize has appropriately affected citizens and the e expectations citizens have of politics—here's something I'd like us to explore together let's design a completely different story so my goal is to work quickly and deliver answers swiftly clearly to achieve this Running a supply chain isn't something I can do alone nor can the government alone nor the Minister Musumeci alone President Schifani says it's enough that we all work together in good faith avoiding controversy because we all share the same responsibility e same goal which is to provide clear answers to our citizens I firmly wa express my gratitude and congratulations as well to the mayors and the administrators to those present and to those who are not here this morning clearly outline the scale of the municipalities involved as the responses that And since you were able to provide information in the early hours starting with Mayor Icatani—well he himself told me how crucial it was and how much it contributed short it reflects the public's perception of how institutions are present during times of difficulty so I'll stop here I'm here of course to hear your perspective on the situation and the main emergencies you see Clearly some things we already take for granted—I heard someone say yesterday tha For example tax exemptions—these are never measures that come with a state of emergency with a state of emergency we ca The suspension of tax payments is provided for in the famous decree we've been discussing so we'referring to measures that have already been implemented and planned In similar situations we must assume these as given but clearly rewriting the list of all requirements also helps us work more effectively