Italy faces wave of extreme weather this weekend.

The north Italian city of Bologna was largely underwater on Saturday night after more than 80mm of rain fell in a few hours, causing the river Ravone to break its banks.

In addition to severe floods, there were reports of power cuts across the city as the mayor Matteo Lepore told residents not to go outside or to drive and to move to upper floors.

NON uscire in strada e non usare l’auto in nessuna zona di #Bologna

Se vedete allagamenti non percorrete le strade con auto, se siete nelle zone critiche salite al piano di sopra#allertameteoBO #Bologna

— Comune di Bologna (@comunebologna) October 19, 2024

At around midnight the city asked residents "not to clog the telephone lines" of police and fire brigade services with calls that "are not related to the protection and safety of people".

Last month the Emilia-Romagna region around Bologna experienced extreme flooding, while in May 2023 the same region was devastated by floods that claimed 17 lives and caused around €10 billion worth of damage.

#Alluvione a #Bologna Le prime immagini di Local Team pic.twitter.com/KwxQYmOXye

— Local Team (@localteamit) October 19, 2024

There was flooding elsewhere in Italy on Saturday, including in Sicily where Palermo airport was temporarily closed due to flooding and an electrical outage.

The northeast Sicilian city of Catania was also battered by floods, with viral footage on social media showing a Nigerian woman wading into torrents to save an Italian man who was being swept down the street.

Salvataggio eroico a #Catania durante l'ondata di #maltempo che sta colpendo la #Sicilia. Una donna salva una persona caduta dallo scooter travolto dalle acque. pic.twitter.com/BFNNaA5MFS

— Marco Ferraglioni (@MFerraglioni) October 19, 2024

With more heavy rain on the way on Sunday, civil protection authorities have issued a moderate risk 'orange' alert in five regions and a lesser 'yellow' weather alert in 13 regions across Italy.

For full details and updates see the website of the Dipartimento Protezione Civile.