The night of September 15-16, 2022 will be forever etched in the Marchigian memory; in one night the same amount of precipitation fell as normal in half a year in the Marche ! The bone-dry ground proved unable to absorb that much water, so it rushed into the valleys where the rivers swelled, killing people and destroying cars and houses. Le Marche in shock…
It’s hard to get an overall picture, but the Misa River valley was hit very hard, eventually burying Senigallia under a thick layer of mud. Places like Ostra, Barbara, Serra de Conti, Pergola and Trecastelli were among the hardest hit, but also further inland in Cantiano, Arcevia and Serra Sant’Abbondio people had to be evacuated and some lost everything.
The videos below speak volumes:
Fortunately, a wave of solidarity and help and the will to overcome this crisis immediately arose: “A Marchigian only goes on his knees to tie his shoelaces” the gallows humor quickly made the round.
Numerous aid campaigns have since started, here is an overview if you want to help:
1) Help on site:
In some places you can lend a hand – from shoveling the mud to clearing houses/shops/bars and the like to lighter activities. Anyone who wants to help can contact the Seminario in Senigallia in Via Cellini. (just go there, or call Caritas beforehand: +393534205466 or email emergenzaalluvione@caritasigallia.it). Caritas coordinates the operations and sends the volunteers to the affected homes. It is recommended that you bring something to eat that day.
2) Gifts such as material and clothing:
The City Angels of Ancona, who care for the homeless, drug addicts, victims of violence and refugees as well as other organizations, collect cleaning supplies such as brooms, gloves, rubber boots, clothes (in good condition), long-life food and water to take them to Senigallia. The last fundraiser was last weekend, but the City Angels told Elke they still need help. Contact: ancona@cityangels.it
Other groups in Le Marche also collect relief supplies – inquire on site. We at the GAS (Gruppo Acquisto Solidale) of Cupramontana also bought all kinds of equipment.
The Campagna amica per le Marche of the Coldiretti agricultural organization collects goods and clothing at several weekly markets in the Marche.
Relief supplies can also be delivered directly to Caritas in Senigallia on Via Cellini.
3) Financiele giften:
If you are not on site, you can help with a monetary donation. Here are some examples: The municipality of Senigallia has opened an account for donations to the victims of the floods: IBAN: IT24M0306921306100000300025, keyword: EMERGENZA ALUVIONE
The Caritas of the Diocese of Fabriano-Matelica, headed by Bishop Monsignor Massara, asks for donations for the victims of the floods under: IBAN IT87 N030 6921 1031 0000 0010 935, also here under the keyword EMERGENZA ALLUVIONE
A private initiative of surf friends from Senigallia, including the children of Claudia Amend, co-founder of the German-language Facebook page Leben und Urlaub in den Marken, started helping shortly after the disaster, asking for paypal donations to floodedsurfersenigallia@ gmail.com to help flood victims
Our friend Federico from Marchecraft, always at the forefront when it comes to helping, has started a fundraising.
A Dutch fundraiser is collecting donations for the B&B Casa Biron, which started its activity with great enthusiasm this year and thus experienced enormous devastation due to the flooding shortly after opening. Donate online here.
4) Visit Le Marche !
Keep visiting the Marche: not all places in the Marche were affected by the flood. The higher places hardly experienced anything and in the north and south of the Marche the effects are significantly less. The affected areas try with all their might to repair the damage as quickly as possible. It is therefore more important that you continue to visit this beautiful region and thus support tourism and local products.
Winemakers and brewers now also offer their flood-affected goods as special packaging: the bottles and labels may have been damaged by the mud, but the contents are still good:
The Birrificio del Catria sells their bottles with a damaged label but the contents are still good, to reduce their losses: https://www.facebook.com/birradelcatria. Slow Food backs this up with the comment “Let’s drink what’s left to salvage”.
The wine producer Boccafosca provides save-the-wine packages online or one of their wine shops in Ostra, Corinaldo or Calcinelli.
All of this is just a snapshot of current relief efforts. New ones are added daily. If you know of other help projects, please mention them in the comments with a little explanation.
The Marchigians are brave people, but all help is welcome!
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