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In Italy's northern Emilia-Romagna region, at least nine people are known to have died after severe floods. Tens of thousands of people have had to leave their homes.

Parts of the area are still under water, causing huge damage to buildings, local infrastructure, and farmland

A severe drought preceded this month's heavy rains, and that's made things even worse, as the ground simply couldn't absorb the volume of water.

Michele de Pascale is the mayor of Ravenna - one of the badly affected towns. He tells Newshour's James Menedez about the impact there.

(Photo: A family is rescued by the firefighters in Coccolia, near Ravenna. Pasquale Bove/EPA)