Heavy flooding in northern Italy on Tuesday  caused rivers to flood their banks and hundreds of people were forced to evacuate their homes, with remaining residents taking shelter in the upper floors of their houses.

Two of the worst hit areas were the towns of Lentigione and Brescello, in the northern Italian province of Reggio Emilia, where some of the community were evacuated by helicopter.

Firefighters rescued people from houses flooded by the Enza and Parma rivers, using amphibious vehicles and rafts to access the flooded areas.

Meteorologists say bad weather will continue to batter Italy during the next few days, with intense rainfall expected in the central part of the peninsula.