A rescue helicopter is seen after several people were killed in a mountain gorge flooding, in the municipality of Civita, Calabria, Italy, Aug. 20, 2018.
A rescue helicopter is seen after several people were killed in a mountain gorge flooding, in the municipality of Civita, Calabria, Italy, Aug. 20, 2018.

Fifteen inches of rainfall caused a severe loss of life and property damage to Italy's Marche region and by the late hours of Thursday, at least seven people had reportedly died and many more were missing as rescue operations began.

The catastrophic floods that resulted from hours of rainfall swept away dozens of vehicles as streets in the central Italian provinces were inundated with water. Stunned local authorities said they weren't expecting such a sudden "water bomb," Reuters reported.

The Catiano commune in the Pesaro Urbino province witnessed a record-breaking 16 inches of rain, second only to the Liguria region which had received 19 inches of rainfall in Oct. 2021, as per TDPel Media.

Videos shared on Twitter paint a horrifying image of the gushing floodwaters flowing in impacted areas.

Several Italian regions were gripped by multiple storms following the European heatwave. Along with Marche, other regions experiencing storms include Tuscany, Umbria, Abruzzo, Fruili Venezia Guilia, Lombardy, Liguria and Molise.

This is a developing story, check back for updates.

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