Italian soldiers and rescue workers are searching for survivors after flash floods and mudslides swamped villages around the coastal region of Liguria and Tuscany, killing at least nine and leaving six others missing.
Coastguard cutters were also called in today following reports that some of the missing may have been swept into the sea by the storm.
Villages like Aulla in Tuscany, where two people are confirmed dead and one is listed as missing, were covered in knee-deep mud.
Six of the victims were in Borghetto Vara, a village in Liguria known for its grapes, wines and chestnuts.
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Floodwaters and mud tore through the village, 70km from Genoa and near the Cinque Terre, a popular holiday area.