SpaceX and Elon Musk to Help Flood Victims in Italy

SpaceX To Team Up With Italy’s Unipol To Help Flood-Hit Italians

In the past week, torrential rains have devastated Italy’s northern Emilia-Romagna region. The rains have caused significant flooding in the region killing at least 14 people and causing billions of euros’ worth of damage to property.

While the Italian government already has measures in place to assist those affected, they are facing difficulties more so with resources such as the internet to reach those affected. This is where Elon Musk and SpaceX come in.

Elon Musk’s SpaceX working closely with Italy’s Unipol Gruppo will work together to help the Italian government in rescue operations. Unipol Gruppo is an Italian financial services group that operates primarily in the insurance sector.

It is one of the largest insurance companies in Italy and offers a range of insurance products, including motor insurance, home insurance, life insurance, health insurance, and various financial services.

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The Unipol Group expresses its closeness and support for the people and companies in central Italy affected by various tragedies having participated in helping previous earthquake and flood victims.

The two organizations (SpaceX and Unipol) will work hand in hand to help the victims stranded in the area connect to the internet. This will ease rescue operations lowering costs since finding people will be easier in the region.

Rescue efforts have so far proven quite difficult since the area is flooded, there is no electricity, disrupted phone lines, and even the persistent bad weather.

As Reuters reports, Unipol has acquired SpaceX’s Starlink satellite internet terminals and as per the agreement between the two organizations, the internet is to be availed to the public, hospitals, and even rescuers.

SpaceX will position the satellites accordingly and priorities the affected area, more so the Emilia-Romagna region. Commenting on the project, Elon Musk said, “SpaceX, Starlink, and Tesla are happy to be of use in any way to help Italy and the people affected by the flooding.”

So far, over 36,000 people have been evacuated from the affected region. According to CNN, about 5,000 people have been accorded shelter in government-allocated centers such as museums, and cinemas.

However, only about 16% of the region has been evacuated so far, with more people being stranded. There have been about 280 landslides in the region and over 20 rivers have broken their banks making rescue efforts all the more difficult.