No. 1506 - The impact on economic activity and housing market of the 2023 Emilia-Romagna floods

Temi di discussione (Working papers)
by Elena Gentili
November 2025
Vai alla versione italiana Site Search

In May 2023, two floods hit the Italian region of Emilia-Romagna, causing 17 deaths and €10 billion in damages. This study uses data on nighttime lighting and online property listings to analyse the impact of these events on the region's economic activity and housing market. The study also assesses the ability of these data sources to provide information that is predictive of official statistics and is available prior to their release.

The floods significantly impacted economic activity in the affected municipalities, but only for one month. Consequently, the overall reduction in growth for the Emilia-Romagna region as a whole was very limited. There were no significant changes to house prices or the number of property listings in the property market, with only a temporary drop in demand in the affected municipalities which lasted for around eight weeks.

Full text

  1. 18 November 2025
    No. 1506 - The impact on economic activity and housing market of the 2023 Emilia-Romagna floods
    PDF 3 MB