Death toll rises as Italy endures worst floods in a century

The death toll from devastating floods that have hit north-eastern Italy has risen to at least 13, reports say, with that figure expected to rfurther increase.

People work to clear the way after heavy rains and deadly floods hit the central Italian region of Marche, in Cantiano, Italy. © Reuters/Yara Nardi

The floods have already driven thousands from their homes and destroyed crops in an area known as the country's orchard.

Rescue workers have been searching for anyone trapped by floodwaters in the Emilia Romagna region.

Among the confirmed victims were two farmers in their 70s who may have been electrocuted while trying to move a fridge inside a flooded house, Italian media reported.

With 10,000 people already displaced, authorities in Ravenna issued an immediate evacuation order early yesterday for three more villages threatened by floods.

Italian Carabinieri rescue elderly residents from floods in Faenza in the #EmiliaRomagna region. Video by ANSA.pic.twitter.com/GJs6Qyz5R6

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"There is a hole in the dyke, so if it were to start raining again ... we fear that the water could rise again, this is our biggest fear," Andrea Ancherani, a resident of Bagnara di Romagna near Imola, told French news agency AFP.

Authorities said electricity had been partly restored, but some 27,000 people are still in the dark.

Nearly two dozen rivers and streams flooded across the southeast of the low-lying region following heavy rain earlier this week.

Floods have submerged entire neighbourhoods and farmland, and damaged 400 roads.

As the water receded in some areas, residents were left cleaning homes and streets thick with mud and filled with debris.

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'Utmost caution'

The mayor of Ravenna, Michele De Pascale, announced Thursday that residents of about a half dozen towns could return, but warned them "to exercise the utmost caution".

The dead included a couple in Ronta di Cesena believed to have been hit by a wall of water as they went to check on their herb farm.

There was little significant rainfall on Thursday and only light rain expected today - Friday - though authorities said the high level alert for rivers remained.

Two people died in the same region earlier this month after two days of almost continuous rain.

Experts warn such disasters are becoming the norm due to human-induced climate change which is exacerbating both droughts and storms.

The flooding caused the cancellation of Sunday's Formula One Emilia Romagna Grand Prix in Imola.

Italy's armed forces and the coastguard joined the rescue effort, deploying helicopters to lift desperate residents from their homes and inflatable boats to reach houses surrounded by water.

Pope Francis offered his prayers for those affected and thanked everyone on the ground helping those hit by the "shocking disaster".

Agriculture Minister Francesco Lollobrigida said earlier in the week that the government could not yet quantify the overall damage to the region while vast areas were still flooded.

(with wires)