Italy floods: Tuscany and Umbria take brunt of rain

Heavy flooding in Italy has killed four people in Tuscany as rain caused rivers to break their banks, reports say.

Three people died when a car fell off a collapsed bridge near the central city of Grosseto, authorities said.

Elsewhere, a 73-year-old man was thought to have died in his car when it was submerged by water on Monday, local media reported.

Two days of heavy rains followed by strong winds have left parts of central and northern Italy submerged.

Rising water levels have caused power cuts and transport disruptions as well as forcing some to flee their homes.

Railway transport was interrupted between Grosseto and Orbetello on Monday night, while access to several sectors of the Florence A1 highway were temporarily closed.

Elsewhere, roads were swamped with deep flood waters.

The governor of Tuscany, Enrico Rossi, has called for troops to be deployed to tackle the flooding, local media said.

On Monday, floods in Venice left 70% of the historic port city under water as sea levels reached 1.5m (5ft) - the sixth highest water level since 1872, Ansa news agency reported.