Concerns about the upcoming F1 race weekend: code red in the region

The weekend of the Grand Prix of Emilia-Romagna does not start until Friday at Imola and seems to be raining out quite a bit, but before then it is really going to be haunted in that region. Emilia-Romagna’s ‘territorial security civil protection services’ have code red issued for severe weather on Tuesday and Wednesday. Especially in the central and eastern part of the region, including Imola, one has to take into account very bad weather. Flooding and even landslides are possible, with an average of 150 mm of water falling in the region in 48 hours. The local population has been called upon to stay at home as much as possible.

Reports of flooding are already appearing in local media at around two o’clock this afternoon. about 900 people had been evacuated. Train traffic has been halted and roads are impassable in several places. The consequences for the Formula 1 teams, which arrive on Wednesday, are not yet clear at this time. Nor is it clear whether the race weekend can continue as planned, although according to the generally well-informed Spanish F1 journalist Albert Fabrega, the signal is still green.

Update 4:15 pm: According to various journalists on location, everyone who was already at the circuit has now been evacuated. Photos of flooding on and around the circuit surface. The river right next to the circuit, the Saterno, threatens to overflow the dikes located directly next to the paddock.