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One dead and one missing in Liguria floods

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One dead and one missing in Liguria floods
Torrential rain triggered floods and landslides in northern Italy, leaving one person dead and another missing. Photo: Francois Guillot/AFP

One person has died and another is missing after torrential rain lashed the northern Italian region of Liguria over the weekend.

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The body of Elias Kassabji, a doctor from Syria, has been found after being swept away by floodwaters from a swollen stream near the port of Genoa on Sunday, La Repubblica reported.

Another man, 70-year-old Enrico Sciutto, who was also swept away with Kassabji, was saved.

The on-duty doctor, who lived in nearby Marassi, was on his way to visit Sciutto’s sick son at their home when the incident happened, according to a report in Il Secolo XIX. His body was found about 300 yards from where he disappeared.

Meanwhile, the situation in Modena, Emilia-Romagna, remains critical, Corriere della sera reported, after the Secchia river burst its banks, causing heavy flooding. As a result 1,000 people between Sorbara, Albareto, Bastiglia and Bomporto had to leave their homes on Sunday, spending the night in hotels.

Click here to view some photos of the flooding in Modena

On Sunday night, rescuers were searching for man who fell into the water after reportedly taking a dinghy on a canal to help stranded people in Modena.

Many residents took to Twitter to share photos of the flooding.

"The water is continuing to rise in Bastiglia!" tweeted @Il_Baba on Sunday evening. 

The torrential rain also caused landslides in a remote mountain community in Liguria, forcing 200 people from their homes and cutting off 1,000 more.

Road and rail traffic in the region were also badly hampered and parts of the Via Aurelia, an old Roman road connecting the Italian capital to the French border, were closed because of multiple landslides.

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