After heavy rainfall, the Italian regions of Emilia-Romagna and Marche have experienced some dramatic flooding. The area on the Adriatic coast has been hit by severe storms since Tuesday. Three people were killed, as the news agency Adnkronos and other Italian media reported on Wednesday. One man was on the ground floor of his house during the flood and drowned. There are also reports of missing persons.

The hardest hit are the provinces of Ravenna, Forlì-Cesena, Rimini and Bologna - and there in particular the cities of Faenza, Cesena and Forlì, as the Italian fire brigade announced. The fire brigade moved out since Tuesday morning to 600 operations and was there with 400 firefighters on site. For example, they rescued people who were trapped in their homes by the water or motorists stranded in the masses of water. In the city of Cesena, where the Savio River has burst its banks, emergency services have rescued dozens of people trapped on the roofs of their homes.

Pictures and videos of the fire brigade showed how entire streets are under water, mudslides block roads and fields resemble lake landscapes because of the masses of water. According to the Civil Protection, 14 rivers have burst their banks in Emilia-Romagna alone.

10 million euros approved for emergency aid

Among other things, the emergency services were deployed with helicopters – some people could be brought to safety. There were also power outages in several parts of the city of Faenza, and there were also problems with telephone connections. In the affected areas, Italian mountain rescue forces are also on site to help. Around 40 mountain rescuers, who specialise in rescues in flooded areas, are on duty to help people.

A woman in Faenza reported how quickly the masses of water paved their way – within ten minutes, according to her, the water rose almost to the first floor of her house. "A neighbor of mine was alone in the house with four small children, she called for help and no one came. We stayed with them all night, in pajamas. The children cried. A disaster," she is quoted as saying by Ansa.

According to Civil Protection Minister Nello Musumeci, about 5000,10 people will be evacuated in the areas. "But there could be more. We are ready to intervene as a government," he said on Italian radio on Wednesday morning. The government has already approved <> million euros for the first expenses and emergencies as a result of the floods. The Civil Protection also called on people to be very careful in the coming hours. People who have not been evacuated should take refuge on higher floors of buildings, for example.

In view of the situation on the ground, Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni also expressed her "full solidarity" with the people in the affected regions. "The government is closely monitoring the development of events and is ready to take the necessary relief measures," she wrote on Twitter.