The effects of Italy’s ongoing catastrophic rainfall have left many homeless.
Authorities are concerned that the number of fatalities could go up since nine people have died in recent days.
Dramatic images depict rescuers struggling to get victims and animals out of the sea.
Reaching individuals who couldn’t leave their homes due to the flooding required the use of lifeboats.
Residents in the north of Italy have been told to get to higher ground amid fears rain-swollen rivers will again burst their banks.
The warning from officials comes after flooding killed at least eight people, forced the evacuation of 5,000 and suspended some train services.
Heavy rains and floods also forced Formula One to cancel this weekend’s Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix to not overtax emergency crews already stretched thin in responding to the emergency.
Days of rainstorms stretched across a swath of northern Italy and the Balkans, where ‘apocalyptic’ floods, landslides and evacuations were also reported in Croatia, Bosnia and Slovenia.
The president of Emilia-Romagna, Stefano Bonaccini, said many people remain unaccounted for.
Italian civil protection minister Nello Musemeci called for a new nationwide hydraulic engineering plan to protect communities from future floods and landslides.
At a briefing to reporters, he said an average of 200mm of rain had fallen in 36 hours in the region.
Some areas registered 500mm in the same period.
‘If you consider that this region averages 1,000mm of rain in a year, you realise the impact that these rains have had in these hours,’ Mr Musemeci said.
Citing the November landslide in Ischia, which killed a dozen people, Mr Musemeci said Italy is increasingly experiencing Africa-style tropical weather.
Long periods of drought are frequently punctuated by intense rainfall that can’t be absorbed by the soil.
He continued: ‘Nothing will ever be the same again … and what has happened in these hours is evidence of that.
‘When soil remains dry for a long time, instead of increasing its absorption capacity, it ends up cementing and allowing rainfall to continue flowing over the surface and causing absolutely unimaginable damage.’
Mr Museumeci said that 5,000 people had been evacuated, 50,000 were without electricity, and more than 100,000 were without mobile phone or landline use.
The deputy chief of the Civil Protection agency, Titti Postiglione, said rescue operations for those needing emergency evacuations were particularly difficult.
Roads and routes have been flooded and phone service disrupted by the floods.
Speaking on Sky TG24, Ms Postiglione said the affected flood zone covered a broad swath of four provinces which, until the heavy rains, had been parched by a prolonged drought.
Some regional train routes remained suspended on Wednesday around Bologna and Ravenna, with severe delays elsewhere, the Italian state railway said.
Premier Giorgia Meloni, who was traveling to the G7 meeting in Japan, said the government is monitoring the situation and prepared to approve emergency aid.
The mayor of the town of Bosanska Krupa in Bosnia said hundreds of homes had been flooded.
Dozens of landslides have also been reported in eastern Slovenia, many of which endangered homes and infrastructure.
In Croatia, hundreds of soldiers and rescue teams continued bringing food and other necessities to people in flood-hit areas who have been isolated in their homes.
No casualties have been reported so far.