Eight dead as floods batter northern Italy, Formula One race called off

Civil Protection Minister Nello Musumeci said some areas had received half their average annual rainfall in just 36 hours, causing rivers to burst their banks, sending water cascading through towns and submerging thousands of acres of farmland.

This weekend's Formula One Grand Prix in Imola, which is close to many of the worst-hit areas, was called off in an effort to relieve pressure on the emergency services and prevent motor racing fans from converging on the reeling region.

"We are facing catastrophic events that have probably not been seen before," the president of the Emilia-Romagna region Stefano Bonaccini told reporters. "Extraordinary amounts of rain have fallen on land no longer capable of absorbing them."

Local authorities said flooding had hit 37 towns and communities and some 120 landslides had been registered. At least one bridge near the city of Bologna collapsed, some roads were fractured and many rail services were suspended.

Eight bodies had been retrieved from various locations, the vice president of Emilia-Romagna, Irene Priolo, told reporters, adding that although the rains were easing, river levels were still rising.

It was the second time this month that Emilia-Romagna has been battered by bad weather, with at least two people dying during storms at the beginning of May.