Extreme floods & tornado: Northern Italy hit by severe storms

Parts of Northern Italy are currently battling severe flooding following heavy storms.

Across Lake Garda, Emilia-Romagna and Parma, heavy rainfall has inundated entire streets and districts. Cars have been swept away. The footage above shows the aftermath in Mulazzano Ponte, Parma.

Flooding in Emilia-Romagna has left damaging consequences on the infrastructure and agriculture. The rain accumulated significant quantities, reaching measurements up to 190 mm in the Secchia basin, 160 mm in the Enza basin, and 125 mm in the Parma basin.

On Tuesday afternoon, a thunderstorm near the town of Rovigo in Veneto, pinned on the WeatherRadar above, even produced a tornado. It uprooted numerous trees and tore off roofs.

Lake Garda has not reached such a high level since 1977; on the morning of June 24th, the height had reached an impressive 145.7 cm, topping the previous record of 146 cm. People located on the west side of the lake also had to be evacuated.

The situation is completely opposite to what it was just a year ago, when extreme drought conditions allowed tourists to walk to the Isola dei Conigli.

The images arriving today from one of Italy's most famous lakes seem to belong to another era. For the northern regions, drought is as far away as ever.