by Nina Vaclavikova
Days after an exceptional wave of severe weather swept through this corner of Friuli Venezia Giulia, local authorities announced a significant step forward in the recovery effort: residents of the hamlet of Versa have been allowed to return to their homes.
The order, signed Thursday by Michele Calligaris, the mayor of Romans d’Isonzo, lifts a previous ban on entering houses that had been deemed unsafe in the storm’s immediate aftermath. A temporary shelter in the town gymnasium will remain in operation as residents assess damage and utilities slowly return.
Regional civil protection chief Riccardo Riccardi, speaking alongside the mayor, called the measure “an important step,” while cautioning that full normalization will take time across the affected area. “In the coming hours, electricity will gradually be restored, and thermal systems will follow,” he said. “We trust it will take just a couple more days for the same process to begin in Brazzano di Cormons.”
Engineers carried out low-voltage line tests on Wednesday morning, giving the green light for power to be safely reactivated in private buildings. Gas service, however, will require additional work: technicians are replacing damaged meters with the aim of restoring the network within the next few days.
Conditions remain more complicated in Brazzano, another area hit hard by the storms. Riccardi noted that civil protection teams, together with the municipality and the fire brigade, are working to secure the zone and reduce the extent of the red area that remains off limits. He emphasized that the area was never formally placed under seizure, a measure sometimes used after major structural or environmental emergencies.
On Thursday, Nov. 20, we visited the affected neighborhoods and spoke with volunteers who have been working nonstop since the storm struck. Many described scenes of devastation — flooded homes, overturned furniture, and mud-caked belongings piled along the streets — and the emotional toll of helping residents sift through what remains. It was, one volunteer said, “a heartbreaking sight,” with entire families returning to homes that no longer resembled the places they had left behind.
The recovery effort will draw national attention on Friday, when Fabio Ciciliano, head of Italy’s National Civil Protection Department, is expected to visit the affected communities. Riccardi said the meeting would be crucial for coordinating the next steps toward requesting a national state of calamity — a formal designation that unlocks expanded financial support.
“It’s an essential requirement,” Riccardi said, “not only to secure additional state resources beyond what the Region will allocate in its upcoming budget, but also to ensure that part of the aid can be directed toward compensating private property owners.”
As residents of Versa cautiously reenter their homes and others in the surrounding area wait for clearance to follow, local officials acknowledged that recovery will be gradual. But Thursday’s scenes — from exhausted volunteers to families confronting the scale of their losses — underscored both the fragility of the moment and the resilience driving the community’s return to normalcy.
