video transcript

The swollen Bacchiglione River roars through Vicenza, here in northeastern Italy. Large areas of central and northern Italy are submerged after torrential rains caused several major rivers to burst their banks. Hundreds of people have been evacuated from Massa Carrara in the north of Tuscany, as normally small streams were transformed into raging torrents. This week's deluge is already thought to have caused millions of euros in damage, as electricity blackouts sweep the region. Civil protection units are to remain on high alert over the next few days over fears mudslides could hit the area. Just last year floods devastated some of the same areas, sending massive waves rolling down these normally placid rivers.