Floods caused by heavy rains have killed 11 people in Emilia Romagna and caused devastation across the region on Wednesday.
A picture taken by an AFP photographer in Cesena on Wednesday showed a flooded road with a submerged car.
Also in Cesena, dramatic footage captured by a bystander shows people swimming through shoulder-high water to reach a woman with her young child and bring them to safety.
Bologna's Via Saffi, one of the northern city's main thoroughfares, became a torrent of fast-running water.
Wow. More footage from Via Saffi. This is the main road to the hospital and airport. Now basically a river. #Italyfloods #Bologna pic.twitter.com/mGcXVW5JRg
— Tom Benjamin (@Tombenjaminsays) May 17, 2023
The closed-off stretch of the A14 motorway between Faenza and Forlì was completely inundated, with rescue helicopters seen in the background of footage published on the Facebook page of local weather site Emilia Romagna Meteo.
An AFP image shows rescue workers evacuating inhabitants of Forlì in the early hours of Wednesday.
Helicopter footage captured by a member of Italy's fire service shows flooding up to rooftop level in Via Roversano and Via dei Mulini in Cesena.
? #Maltempo #EmiliaRomagna, esondato il fiume Savio a #Cesena nella zona di via Roversano e via dei Mulini: segnalate persone bloccate sui tetti per l'alto livello dell'acqua, in atto sull'area operazioni di soccorso con l'elicottero dei #vigilidelfuoco [#16maggio 17:45] pic.twitter.com/UiRZ8CGU2r
— Vigili del Fuoco (@vigilidelfuoco) May 16, 2023
A resident of the San Benedetto district of Forlì, where a person was found drowned in their home on Wednesday morning, posted a video from his window showing widespread flooding.
"This is the situation in Forlì, in my house, at 6am," the man says.
"A disaster."
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