Emilia Romagna, May 16, 2023. As her cell phone is about to die, Maria Chiara types a message. She’d like to say so many things, but there’s no time left. Before the screen goes off, she writes the only thing she would like to ask her loved ones: “Pray for us.” 9:54 p.m., the time of this last post. Then nothing more.

Emilia Romagna, May 16, 2023. The grandmother holds Jenny, her one-year-old granddaughter, in her arms. The mother clutches Diego, only 45 days old, to her chest. The water rises. The firefighters are speechless. 20 meters above, a helicopter waits for information. “Guys, we have two children... They're very small.”