 Eyewitness videos showed waters flowing through the street in Castile Bolognese on May 17, as devastating floods hit Italy's northern Emilia-Romagna region. At least eight people died and thousands were evacuated from their homes as torrential rain battered the Emilia-Romagna region, triggering widespread floods, officials said on Wednesday. Civil Protection Minister Nelo Mussumeci said some areas had received half their average annual rainfall in just 36 hours, causing rivers to burst their banks, sending water cascading through towns and submerging thousands of acres of farmland. Eight bodies had been retrieved from various locations. The vice president of Emilia-Romagna, Irene Pryolo, told reporters, adding that the rains were easing but that river levels were still rising.