Italy hit by heavy rain, witnesses half of annual rainfall in 36 hours; flooding claims 11lives

Heavy rains lashed Italy's northern Emilia Romagna region on Wednesday causing deadly floods that claimed the lives of at least 11 people, said a local official.

Eight bodies had been recovered from various locations, the vice president of Emilia-Romagna, Irene Priolo, told reporters, adding that the rains were easing but that river levels were still rising.

As a part of a huge rescue operation involving emergency service and armed forces, the bodies were recovered by divers on Wednesday.

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"Overall in Forli, there were three victims, one in Cesena and one in Cesenatico,"which could be a German man previously reported missing, the official said.

"The city is on its knees, devastated and in pain," said Gian Luca Zattini, the mayor of Forli, a city near Bologna where three people lost their lives. "It's the end of the world."

Emilia Romagna, which is also known as one of the richest regions of Italy, was hit by deadly rains just a fortnight ago causing floods that killed at least two people.

Civil Protection Minister Nello Musumeci said that this time, around 50 centimetres (20 inches) of rain fell within 36 hours in Forli, Cesena and Ravenna, which is around half the normal annual rainfall. He described it as a situation "with few precedents".

"It is still a very critical situation," he said, adding that while the rain was still falling, it was expected to lighten during the day.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Melonitook to Twitter and lent her support for those affected and said the government was "ready to intervene with the necessary aid".

Floods force cancellation of Formula One Grand Prix

The Emilia Romagna Formula One Grand Prix, scheduled to be held at Imola this weekend was called off by the organisers on Wednesday citing that it was "not possible to safely hold the event" due to heavy flooding in the region.

Formula One released a statement saying that after the high-level discussions following the devastation caused by the floods in the region, "the decision has been taken not to proceed with the Grand Prix weekend at Imola".

"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," it added.

"It would not be right to put further pressure on the local authorities and emergency services at this difficult time."

(With inputs from agencies)

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