Foreign Office warns UK tourists as Italy region evacuated and trains suspended

British holidaymakers heading to Italy have been warned that "severe" flooding is currently affecting the northern region of Emilia-Romagna, leading to significant disruption in the area.

The UK Foreign Office has updated its official travel advice for Italy to warn Brits of the situation, explaining that rail services between Faenza and Forli and Porto Maggiore and Ravenna are currently suspended due to the extreme weather. The warning adds that there is a particular risk to safety around riverbanks, green areas affected by flooding, and stagnant water.

Anyone who has a holiday planned to the area is advised to check with their tour operator or accommodation provider before they travel, and is urged to follow the instructions of local authorities. It comes after around 1,000 residents were evacuated from the region due to the floods after the region was hit by torrential rains on Wednesday night, the Manchester Evening News reports.

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Three of the region's provinces - Ravenna, Bologna and Faenza - have been flooded, with residents told to stay in the upper floors or leave their houses, and Ravenna mayor Michele De Pascale describing the situation as a "full emergency". Schools, libraries and parks across the region were closed, while some roads were impacted by landslides, with two people reported missing.

The national fire department said it had carried out more than 500 rescue operations in Emilia-Romagna, including with the use of helicopters, with the region's acting president Irene Priolo saying that it had rained "non-stop" for more than 48 hours. Floods and mudslides were also affecting the neighbouring regions of Tuscany and Marche.

Italy is the latest of several nations across central Europe to have been hit by catastrophic flooding, including Austria, the Czech Republic, Poland and Romania, as a result of a low pressure system that began dumping record rainfall in the region last Thursday. Authorities have reported 23 deaths so far, with seven each in Poland and Romania, five in Austria and four in the Czech Republic.