Floods swept through parts of the Emilia-Romagna region in northeastern Italy on Sunday after heavy rain fell overnight, resulting in the death of one person in an area experiencing extreme weather conditions.

Firefighters said they found the body of a person who was missing in Bottegino di Tsucka, south of Bologna.

Media reports stated that the victim was a 20-year-old man whose car was swept away by the water.

In the city of Bologna and surrounding areas, about 175 mm of rain fell in one day, while the record average for October is 70 mm for the entire month, according to regional authorities.

A "state of maximum alert" has been declared until midnight on Sunday in Bologna and four provinces in the northeastern plains, despite the rain subsiding.

Authorities stated in a statement that "the exceptional amount of rain caused flooding in several areas of Bologna, where the city's streets were inundated, and the sewage systems were unable to accommodate the water."

The municipal council in the city announced that schools in Bologna would be closed on Monday.

Firefighters published photos taken by a helicopter showing vast areas of agricultural land on the outskirts of Bologna partially submerged in water.

More than 2,100 people were evacuated, and electricity was cut off for about 15,000.

By Sunday afternoon, electricity was out for around four thousand people, according to regional authorities.

The Reno, Enza, and Secchia rivers and their tributaries overflowed, and authorities warned of possible landslides in mountainous areas.

Regional authorities reported that 15 waterways "exceeded the alert threshold," with eight rivers surpassing the third and maximum level on the established warning scale for rising water levels.

Regional authorities indicated that some rivers recorded levels higher than those seen in May 2023 when the area was devastated by heavy rains and floods that led to 17 deaths.

Those floods were described as the worst in Italy in a century. In September, Storm Boris struck the area, causing new flooding.

Experts say climate change due to greenhouse gas emissions from human activities makes extreme weather events like heavy rainfall and floods more frequent and severe.