Rome seeks emergency status after heavy rains

Asian tourists visit the flooded Saint Mark's square during a period of high water in Venice in a 2006 file photo. Hoteliers in Venice, trying to lure tourists to the canal city despite floods caused by the highest sea levels in over two decades, are offering special ''High Water'' packages complete with free rubber boots December 10, 2008.

ROME (Reuters) - Rome's mayor asked authorities to declare a state of emergency in the Italian capital on Thursday after heavy rains and thunderstorms overnight caused floods, disrupted transport and led to at least one death.

Much of Italy has been hit by bad weather in the past few days, with strong winds and steady downpours in the south and heavy snowfall in the north.

In Rome, overnight storms flooded underpasses and prompted precautionary evacuations as the waters of the Tiber and Aniene rivers rose quickly. The flooding delayed trains and injected further confusion to Rome's already chaotic traffic.

One woman died after being trapped in her car in a flooded underpass in the city's outskirts. Mayor Gianni Alemanno urged Romans to avoid using their cars for the next 24 hours.

"This is a critical situation, with the main roads leading into Rome all blocked," Alemanno said after asking regional authorities to declare a state of emergency.

Officials in Tuscany asked for a national state of emergency after parts of the region were flooded. The fast-rising waters of the Arno river prompted concern it could affect Florence's Uffizi Gallery, which houses a collection of masterpieces.

(Writing by Deepa Babington; Editing by Charles Dick)