Formula 1 officials have announced that the Grand Prix weekend in Imola will not proceed after deadly floods hit the region.
The flooding has killed at least five people in the Emilia-Romagna region, with 5,000 people having been evacuated from their homes, as of Wednesday morning.
“Following discussions between Formula 1, the President of the FIA, the competent authorities including the relevant Ministers, the President of the Automobile Club of Italy, the President of the Emilia Romagna Region, the Mayor of the City and the promoter, the decision has been taken not to proceed,” Formula 1 said in a statement.
“The decision has been taken because it is not possible to safely hold the event for our fans, the teams and our personnel and it is the right and responsible thing to do given the situation faced by the towns and cities in the region.
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“It would not be right to put further pressure on the local authorities and emergency services at this difficult time.”
Heavy rain caused the Savior River to swell, flooding the city of Cesena earlier this week and seeing the region placed under Italy’s most severe red weather warning.
Formula 1 personnel had already been instructed to leave the paddock at the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari on Tuesday, as the rain continued to fall across the circuit.
Fears were raised ahead of the event as the water level in the Santerno river began to dangerously rise just metres from the track, resulting in a meeting between F1 officials and local authorities.
Images circulating on social media showed parts of the circuit submerged, with the area where all the TV broadcasts would be located completely flooded.
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“The Formula 1 community wants to send its thoughts to the people and communities affected by the recent events in the Emilia-Romagna region,” the statement read.
“We also want to pay tribute to the work of the emergency services who are doing everything they can to help those in need.”
The Emilia Romagna Grand Prix was set to be the first of three European races, with Monaco and Barcelona set to follow in the coming weeks.