At least seven dead as flash floods hit Italy's Marche region

Rescue workers rescue people on a dinghy boat on a flooded street after heavy rains hit the east coast of Marche region in Senigallia, Italy. Vigili del Fuoco/Handout via REUTERS

Heavy rains and floods hit the central Italian region of Marche from the late hours of Thursday, killing at least seven people, while three others were still missing, Italian media reported on Friday. Local authorities said they did not expect such a sudden "water bomb", as around 400 millimetres of rain fell within two to three hours, inundating the streets of several towns in the Ancona and Pesaro-Urbino provinces. Footage released by fire brigades showed operators navigating the streets of seaside town Sinigallia on rafters to rescue people and evacuate them, while others attempted to clear an underpass of debris. Rescue services were still searching for survivors, authorities were quoted as saying. Meanwhile, the leader of Italy's centre-left Democratic Party (PD) wrote on Twitter that it would stop its campaign in the region ahead of the Sept. 25 national election.