Two people were left dead and two missing after a mudslide in Piedmont on Thursday as heavy rains battered Italy's northern and central regions.
The body of an elderly man was discovered in a house hit by the mudslide while another man was found in a nearby car. Police were continuing to search for a missing woman and her three-year-old child.
Elsewhere in the region schools were closed as mudslides and flooding blocked roads and 150 people had to be evacuated from the town of Bussoleno after the river Dora burst its banks.
Residents of regional capital Turin were being warned to check on the state of the city's bridges before leaving the house, and the mayor closed bars and restaurants along the Po river because of high water.
Fifty elderly residents in a city hospital near the river bank were moved to other hospitals in the area and a gypsy camp was also evacuated.
In the Valle d'Aosta region bordering Switzerland and France, the river Dora Baltea broke its banks and regional officials warned it may be necessary to block international into the area.
Problems were also reported in the central Marche region where a small tornado damaged trees and rain and hail caused flooding to roads and buildings.
In Umbria, the town of Gubbio also suffered heavy flooding and 30 children had to flee to the second floor of a school after water burst up through bathroom drains.
Italy's civil protection chief Guido Bertolaso warned that the bad weather could continue until Friday evening and said he had mobilised the entire fleet of state helicopters in case of further incidents.
