Torrential rains that exceeded forecasters' expectations triggered flash flooding that killed at least six people, with the worst-hit areas along the west coast.

A 3-year-old girl was the only survivor of a five-member family that perished in the port city of Livorno, in Tuscany, when they were trapped in their basement apartment by rising floodwaters. The family members killed included the girl's parents, 4-year-old brother and a grandfather.

The grandfather rescued the girl but he, too, drowned when he went back to try and save the boy, TV RaiNews24 reported.

Images of the house showed a courtyard covered with mud and debris, with neighbors looking on in shock as emergency workers moved in to recover the bodies.

The death toll could rise as at least two other people were known to be missing, Anna Marie Manzone, a provincial interior ministry official, told Sky TG24 TV. Sky reported that two elderly people died in a hillside hamlet outside of Livorno.

Italy's flooding crisis eases, leaving trail of death and destruction

A seventh person was killed in a road accident but it was unclear if that was due to the weather.

"The city is literally devastated," said Livorno Mayor Filippo Nogarin, adding that "a crazy amount of rain" pummeled the area in just a few hours overnight.

Emergency workers in Livorno

Rome is also hit hard

Powerful winds brought down trees and parked cars were alternately submerged or carried away by floodwaters.

Residents in some parts of the city could be seen sweeping water out of their homes and piling up ruined furniture on the street, while in another courtyard a red delivery van had been flipped almost vertical by the rushing water.

Mayor Nogarin appealed for volunteers to help the city, which has a population of 170,000. Many travelers pass through the city to catch ferries to the islands of Elba and Sardinia. The flooding also interrupted train service along the Tuscan coast, along the Tyrrhenian Sea.

About 325 km (200 miles) to the south, in Rome, the deluge turned streets into fast-moving streams and forced underpasses and at least seven subway stations to close due to flooding.

"What's happening in Rome right now is unheard of... with a storm unleashing chaos. Once more the city has proved itself to be completely unprepared for rain," said Italian consumer association Codacons.

Barring an urgent need to go out, Mayor Virginia Raggi urged residents to stay indoors.

Thunderstorms lashed the city Sunday morning but potential hailstorms and strong winds were expected to last into Monday. The flooding was made worse by a summer-long drought that left the parched earth less able to soak up the deluge of water.

bik/rc (AP, AFP, Reuters, dpa)</s>ROME (AP) - Torrential rain in Italy has triggered flooding that killed at least five people in the Tuscan port town of Leghorn.

Italian state television said four of the victims were family members whose bodies were found in their flooded basement on Sunday.

Some Italian media reports put the death toll at six in Leghorn, also known in Italy as Livorno. Mayor Filippo Nogarin said he couldn't immediately confirm the number, but added that casualties could increase because several people were missing.

A flooded garden in Leghorn, Italy, Sunday, Sept. 10, 2017. Torrential rains have pounded Italy, leaving at least 5 dead in the Tuscan port town of Leghorn. State TV said 4 of the dead were family members found in their home's flooded basement Sunday, and 3 people were missing. In Rome, flooding forced several subway stations to close. (Alessio Novi/ANSA via AP)

Nogarin says "a crazy amount of rain" pummeled Leghorn and "the city is literally devastated."

Train service was interrupted in parts of the Tuscan coastal area.

In Rome, which until recently suffered through 3½ months of drought, the downpour made streets resemble fast-moving streams and several subway stations were closed.

Firemen and rescuers work nera the area where five people died following floods in Leghorn, Italy, Sunday, Sept. 10, 2017. Torrential rains have pounded Italy, leaving at least 5 dead in the Tuscan port town of Leghorn. State TV said 4 of the dead were family members found in their home's flooded basement Sunday, and 3 people were missing. In Rome, flooding forced several subway stations to close. (Alessio Novi/ANSA via AP)

A camper van lies by the side of a road following floods in Leghorn, Italy, Sunday, Sept. 10, 2017. Torrential rains have pounded Italy, leaving at least 5 dead in the Tuscan port town of Leghorn. State TV said 4 of the dead were family members found in their home's flooded basement Sunday, and 3 people were missing. In Rome, flooding forced several subway stations to close. (Alessio Novi/ANSA via AP)</s>Torrential rain in Italy has triggered flooding that killed at least five people in the Tuscan port town of Livorno.

Italian state television said four of the victims were family members whose bodies were found in their flooded basement on Sunday.

Some Italian media reports put the death toll at six. Mayor Filippo Nogarin said he could not confirm the number, but added that casualties could increase because several people were missing.

Mr Nogarin said “a crazy amount of rain” pummelled Livorno and “the city is literally devastated”.

Train services were interrupted in parts of the Tuscan coastal area.

In Rome, which until recently suffered through three and a half months of drought, the downpour made streets resemble fast-moving streams and several underground stations were closed.</s>Torrential rain in Italy has triggered flooding that killed at least five people in the Tuscan port town of Leghorn.

Italian state television said four of the victims were family members whose bodies were found in their flooded basement on Sunday.

Some Italian media reports put the death toll at six in Leghorn, also known in Italy as Livorno. Mayor Filippo Nogarin said he couldn’t immediately confirm the number, but added that casualties could increase because several people were missing.

Nogarin says “a crazy amount of rain” pummeled Leghorn and “the city is literally devastated.”

Train service was interrupted in parts of the Tuscan coastal area.

In Rome, which until recently suffered through 3½ months of drought, the downpour made streets resemble fast-moving streams and several subway stations were closed.</s>Torrential rain in Italy has triggered flooding that killed at least five people in the Tuscan port town of Livorno.

Italian state television said four of the victims were family members whose bodies were found in their flooded basement on Sunday.

Some Italian media reports put the death toll at six.

Mayor Filippo Nogarin said he could not confirm the number, but added that casualties could increase because several people were missing.</s>ZADAR, Croatia — Torrential rain has hit the Croatian Adriatic coast, triggering flash floods that have closed roads and left large areas without electricity.

The downpour in the central Adriatic city of Zadar on Monday suspended school classes and flooded houses and hospitals. A river bridge was destroyed by surging waters.

The storm has moved from north to south after triggering havoc in the Istrian peninsula over the weekend.

Meteorologists say it’s the worst single rainfall on this stretch of the Adriatic coast since 1986.

Zadar authorities have urged residents not to drive on the flooded roads until further notice.

On Sunday, torrential rain in Italy triggered flooding that killed at least seven people. One person remains missing in Livorno.</s>Floods kill at least five as storms thrash Italy

A man battles the heavy rain and floods on the way to a football match in Rome September 10, 2017. — Reuters picROME, Sept 10 — At least five people have died in violent rainstorms sweeping across Italy today, with the Tuscan city of Livorno taking the brunt of the flooding, fire services said.

Four people from the same family were found dead in a flooded house in the city, where 40 centimetres of rainfall in four hours transformed streets into rivers and washed away cars.

The Corriere della Sera daily said the dead were a little girl, her parents and a grandparent.

A fifth body was found in an area devastated by landslides. Three other people were missing, the fire brigade said.

“The situation is very difficult, it’s critical. We fear a disaster,” Livorno mayor Filippo Nogarin said.

Italy’s civil protection service issued a code orange alert for Florence as the storms, which began in northern Italy overnight, swept down the country towards the south.

Underpasses were being closed as a precaution in the capital Rome.

Coldiretti, Italy’s main agricultural organisation, said the bad weather was aggravated by coming hard on the heels of a drought which had left the land drier than usual and unable to soak up the rains.

Rainfall in Tuscany in particular had been down 57 per cent this summer, it said.

“The tropicalisation of the climate is causing an increase in extreme weather events, with heat waves, heavy cloud bursts and violent hailstorms which are damaging the national agricultural production,” Coldiretti said.

It put the cost of the damage at over €14 billion (RM70.7 billion) in the last 10 years. — AFP</s>Torrential rain in Italy triggered flooding that killed at least five people Sunday in the Tuscan port town of Leghorn, including four family members trapped by rising water in their basement.

The Italian news agency ANSA said the bodies of a 4-year-old boy, his parents and grandfather were found in the flooded basement of their two-family home.

Some Italian media reports put the death toll at six in Leghorn, also known in Italy as Livorno. But the Tuscany Region civil protection chief, Cristiano Lucchi, said the sixth death was caused by a car accident unrelated to the flooding.

Lucchi said two persons were missing.

Leghorn Mayor Filippo Nogarin said a “a crazy amount of rain” pummeled Leghorn in the space of a few hours and “the city is literally devastated.”

Strong winds toppled trees and many parked cars were nearly submerged by flood waters that also left streets clogged with mud.

Nogarin appealed for volunteers to help the town, which has a population of about 170,000 and is a popular transit point for travelers catching ferries to the islands of Elba and Sardinia.

Train service was interrupted in parts of the Tuscan coastal area along the Tyrrhenian Sea.

In Rome, which until recently had suffered through 3½ months of drought, the downpour quickly made streets resemble fast-moving streams and several subway stations were closed.

City Hall urged residents and visitors to go outside only for urgent reasons and to avoid parks after midmorning thunderstorms lashed Rome. It warned that weather forecasts including the possibility of hailstorms and strong winds throughout the rest of Sunday and Monday.</s>At least six people have died in violent rainstorms sweeping across Italy on Sunday (Sept 10), with the Tuscan city of Livorno taking the brunt of the flooding, fire services said.The Corriere della Sera daily said the dead were a little girl, her parents and a grandparent.A fifth body was found in an area devastated by landslides. Three other people were missing, the fire brigade said."The situation is very difficult, it's critical. We fear a disaster," Livorno mayor Filippo Nogarin said.Italy's civil protection service issued a code orange alert for Florence as the storms, which began in northern Italy overnight, swept down the country towards the south.Underpasses were being closed as a precaution in the capital Rome.Coldiretti, Italy's main agricultural organisation, said the bad weather was aggravated by coming hard on the heels of a drought which had left the land drier than usual and unable to soak up the rains.Rainfall in Tuscany in particular had been down 57 per cent this summer, it said."The tropicalisation of the climate is causing an increase in extreme weather events, with heat waves, heavy cloud bursts and violent hailstorms which are damaging the national agricultural production," Coldiretti said.It put the cost of the damage at over 14 billion euros (S$22.54 billion) in the last 10 years.</s>People are seen cleaning mud following floods in Livorno, Italy, September 10, 2017. REUTERS/Leonardo Bianchi

MILAN (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 (10 inches) 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," the mayor of Livorno, Filippo Nogarin, said in a video posted on Twitter, adding the weather forecasts did not suggest a cloudburst so violent in central Italy.

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 a hour later because of the bad weather.
Floods, following torrential rain, kill at least six people in the port city of Livorno, Italy.