Floods in Italy Displaced Thousands, Caused Extensive Damage

Severe flooding, which followed two days of torrential rain across a wide swath of northern Italy, has left at least nine people dead, displaced thousands from their homes, and caused widespread damage.

At least nine people have died, Stefano Bonaccini, head of the hardest-hit Emilia-Romagna region, confirmed to Italian television on Wednesday evening. There are additional reports of people missing in the floods.

Officials said that because of the exceptional rains since the beginning of the week, the waters of 21 out of 23 rivers in the region overflowed their banks, affecting 37 municipalities. The authorities also recorded 250 landslides.

The Civil Defence reported that electricity was cut off for about 50,000 people, while the mobile phone network was disrupted for 100,000 people.

Regional railway traffic in Emilia-Romagna was completely disrupted, while countless roads were flooded.

The Italian fire service says it has deployed 400 firefighters and responded to 600 calls since Tuesday morning.