Thousands evacuated as deadly floods sweep northern Italy

Floods in northern Italy have killed at least five people and led to thousands being evacuated, after a period of heavy rainfall. 

Authorities announced on Wednesday three lives were lost in the Emilia Romagna region, with roads flooded and sandbags lining the streets in several places like Bologna, Cesena and Senigallia. 

Three people are still missing, according to Reuters. 

Residents have been warned they remain in danger as the worst may still be to come, with rain continuing to pour. 

Emergency services have worked tirelessly to help people, who were urged by the authorities to head to rooftops and avoid going out. 

Multiple rivers burst on Tuesday after being swollen by days of heavy downpours. Scientists have linked extreme weather events like floods to climate change. They say things will get worse unless people and governments take urgent action. 

"At the moment there are two dead... the emergency is still underway," authorities in the Emilia Romagna region said in a statement, following desperate attempts to save children and the elderly last night. 

A man in Forlì, near Bologna, and one in Cesena, were the victims of the floods, with one man's wife still missing, according to the region. 

A third victim was found on a beach in Cesenatico, say media reports.

In Venice, authorities have prepared to activate a mobile barrier in the lagoon in a bid to spare the tourist hotspot from a rare May high-tide flooding.

Some 900 people in flooded areas of northern Italy were evacuated by late Tuesday night, many sheltering gyms or schools, according to Cesena Mayor Enzo Lattuca. 

“Use prudence, don’t be curious, so disaster doesn’t turn into tragedy,″ he said on Rai state TV.

5,000 people had been evacuated from Ravenna alone,