Italy floods: At least 8 dead and thousands evacuated as heavy rains inundate northern region

At least eight people died and thousands have been evacuated from their homes as torrential rain battered Italy's northern Emilia-Romagna region, triggering widespread floods, officials said on Wednesday. The vice president of Emilia-Romagna Irene Priolo told reporters that the bodies were retrieved from various locations, adding that the rains were easing but that river levels were still rising.

Muddy waters flowed through the streets of Faenza, Cesena, and Forli, washing over the roofs of parked cars, submerging some stores and forcing locals to flee to the top stories of their homes. Road and rail links were blocked in numerous locations and the mayors of many towns and cities, including Bologna, urged residents not to leave their homes.

It was the second time this month that Emilia-Romagna has been battered by bad weather, with at least two people dying during storms at the beginning of May.

The torrential rains followed months of drought which dried out the land, reducing its capacity to absorb water and worsening the impact of the floods, meteorologists said.

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