Italy floods aftermath – in pictures

A father holds his daughter in his arms in Sant’Agata sul Santerno, northern Italy. The Italian government has approved more than 2 billion euros ($2.2 billion) in aid for the flood-stricken region of Emilia-Romagna.

The salt pans of the town of Cervia in Emilia Romagna. Most areas of Italy had days of heavy rain, with the largest quantity falling over the north-eastern Emilia-Romagna region.

Volunteers clear mud as household goods are piled on the side of a street in Faenza. Within a 36-hour period the Emilia-Romagna region received an average 200mm of rainfall.

The landslides in the municipality of Modigliana on the slopes of the Apennines. Six months’ worth of rain fell in 36 hours in the Emilia-Romagna region, with the floods described as the worst the country has seen in a century.

The floods have destroyed homes and shops and left more than 5,000 farms under water.

A person holding a framed picture stands among debris in front of a building in Ca’ di Lugo, a small town in Lugo, after the flooding of the Santerno River.

Extensive flooding submerged thousands of acres of farmland, towns and villages, resulting in thousands of evacuations.

A woman washes dishes at a flooded area among debris in Ca’ di Lugo.

An aerial view of flooded fields and factories in the municipality of Conselice.

2022 was the hottest year on record in Italy, so before the floods, Emilia-Romagna and other areas of northern Italy were drought-hit with dried-out land, reducing the capacity for the ground to absorb water.

Faenza residents clear mud after the city was hit by two floods, the first from 1 to 4 May and the second from 17 to 19 May.

The landslides in the municipality of Casola Valsenio on the slopes of the Apennines. The floods have caused more than 305 landslides and damaged or closed more than 500 roads in the region.

A man wades past a flooded car in Forlì.

Volunteers accompany two divers from the Italian coast guard and two volunteers from the Italian Red Cross to deliver cooked meals and drinking water to families isolated by flooding in Conselice.