Six dead and two missing after floods hit Italy

‘The emergency is not over,’ warns Livorno mayor as Rome also affected by heavy rain

A car is  submerged following floods in Livorno, Italy, which claimed the lives of at least six people. Photograph:  Leonardo Bianchi/Reuters
A car is submerged following floods in Livorno, Italy, which claimed the lives of at least six people. Photograph: Leonardo Bianchi/Reuters

Six people died and two were missing in the Tuscan city of Livorno after heavy rain hit the city early on Sunday, causing floods, the city's mayor said.

Between midnight and 0200 GMT, more than 250 millimetres of rain hit the city, causing several streams to overflow, the city of Livorno said on its website, citing several casualties.

“The emergency is not over,” the administration said on the website.

"Livorno has never been so devastated by bad weather," mayor Filippo Nogarin, said in a video posted on Twitter, adding the weather forecasts did not suggest a cloudburst so violent in central Italy.

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Heavy rain has also hit Rome, where mayor Virginia Raggi asked citizens to stay home. A Serie A match between Italian soccer clubs Lazio and AC Milan, due to start at Rome's stadium at 1300 GMT, began an hour later because of the bad weather.

– (Reuters)