At least nine people are reported to have died with others missing in flash floods caused by heavy rain in Italy’s northern Emilia-Romagna region.
About 10,000 people have been evacuated, with some rescued by helicopter from rooftops.
As many as 14 rivers have broken their banks, flooding 23 towns.
The mayor of Ravenna reportedly described his city as now being “unrecognisable”.
The Emilia-Romagna Formula 1 Grand Prix at Imola this weekend has been cancelled as a result.
Meanwhile, EasyJet warned that critical airport ground handling services will be affected by national strike action in Italy tomorrow (May 19).
“We expect that there may be delays and some disruption due to the industrial action, therefore we advise all customers to check the status of their flight on our flight tracker,” the budget carrier said.
The Foreign Office updated its travel advice for Italy to warn about “severe flooding” is affecting the region of Emilia-Romagna.
“Check before you travel and follow the instructions of local authorities,” the alert said.
Confirming nine people had died in the flooding on Wednesday, regional president Stefano Bonaccini was quoted locally as saying there had been hundreds of landslides leading to roads in the region being cut off.
Further rain is forecast across the region over the coming days.