The northern Italian town of Parma is counting the cost of damages after heavy flooding and mudslides swept through the town.

The town was inundated with mud and flood water after the equivalent of three months of rain fell in just seven hours.

Massive amounts of water swept through the streets, picking up cars and depositing them on top of garages or nose-down in muddy water.

Water swirled around the central postal office cutting off phones and internet service. Murky waterlines could be seen above ground floor apartment windows.

Local authorities estimate millions of euros in damage, but are still in the process of calculating the exact cost.

Italy's deep economic crisis, which has seen public spending pared back to the bone in many areas, have made handling unexpected disasters more challenging.