"Extremely critical"

Heavy rainfall: Land under water in Tuscany

As the Italian fire department revealed on "X", a young driver also had to be rescued - he was stuck in his car due to the masses of water.

(Bild: Vigili del Fuoco)

Heavy rainfall hit the Italian region of Tuscany on Thursday evening. The island of Elba and the southern part of Tuscany, the Maremma, were particularly affected. However, the all-clear has not been given - according to experts, the bad weather is set to continue on Friday.

The port town of Portoferraio on the island of Elba was flooded. Dozens of people were brought to safety by rescue teams. Three people were rescued after being trapped in their homes by the masses of water.

Another 28 people were rescued after being trapped in cars along the main road in Portoferraio, media reported. Rescue teams urged citizens not to leave their homes and residents of other municipalities on the island not to drive to Portoferraio - as the main access roads to the island's largest city were under water and impassable.

Municipality of Portoferraio warns of "extremelycritical situation"
 On social media, the municipality of Portoferraio spoke of "an extremely critical situation". It called on citizens "not to take to the streets and to seek shelter in safe areas". The civil defense, the fire department and the Carabinieri were deployed on the blocked roads. All schools in Portoferraio will remain closed on Friday. Elba is the third largest island in Italy after Sicily and Sardinia.

There was also severe storm damage on the island of Giglio, with landslides and mudslides. There was also severe damage in the Tuscan port cities of Talamone and Orbetello. Agriculture was particularly affected.