Five people died, bridges were swept away and villages were hit by mud slides on Wednesday after 500 millimetres of rain fell in just a few hours in northern Tuscany, Italy. The areas worst hit were the Spezia region and the picturesque Cinque Terre area, where three people died. A 50-year-old woman and an elderly couple from the village of Borghetto were also swept to their deaths in a river of mud, according to authorities in La Spezia.
Another young woman was dragged for more than a kilometre but was later found alive and in a state of shock. Inhabitants in Borgetto Vara and Brugnato were rescued by monks in a nearby monastery who provided shelter to around 30 people, feeding them and giving them dry clothes.
