A storm system that has wreaked havoc across central Europe brought devastating floods to the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna on Thursday for the second year in a row, forcing people to leave their homes and schools to close.

Clean-up operations after devastating floods in Italy Residents start clean-up operations after devastating floods hit Emilia-Romagna region in Italy. Central Europe is experiencing the worst floods in at least two decades,

A massive flood wave moving across Central Europe is threatening new areas and raising concerns among residents and officials.

More than 50 regions of Italy have issued alerts, as flooding continues to batter Poland and the Czech Republic.

European Union chief Ursula von der Leyen has pledged billions of euros in aid for Central European countries that suffered enormous damage to infrastructure and housing during the massive flooding th

As our colleagues in BBC Weather point out, climate scientists have been warning us for years about extreme rainfall events like these as the planet warms. Heavy rain is expected over much of Italy over the next few days, with the regions of Emilia-Romagna and Lazio under yellow weather alerts.

The north-east and central regions of Italy are being battered, days after the storm caused widespread flooding in central Europe.