Heavy rains has hit the northern Italian regions of Tuscany and Emilia-Romagna, pushing the main rivers in the regions above alert levels for floodings

Thunderstorms packing torrential rains triggered flooding across a number of Italian cities, disrupting flights and forcing the authorities to close schools, markets and other public areas.

Local authorities raised an extreme weather alert from orange to red in the cities of Florence, Prato, Pistoia and Pisa as torrential rain hit Tuscany on Friday. The regional government said the decision was taken by the operational committee of Tuscany's civil protection service after a meeting with the crisis unit.