A man wades through flooding waters in Obrovac, Croatia, Tuesday, May 16, 2023. Heavy rain in recent days caused some rivers to overflow their banks, flooding homes, roads and public buildings in some towns. (AP Photo/Darko Bandic) 
Entrance of a gym is protected against flooding waters in Obrovac, Croatia, Tuesday, May 16, 2023. Heavy rain in recent days caused some rivers to overflow their banks, flooding homes, roads and public buildings in some towns. (AP Photo/Darko Bandic) 
A man standing in his flooded yard is photographed in Obrovac, Croatia, Tuesday, May 16, 2023. Heavy rain in recent days caused some rivers to overflow their banks, flooding homes, roads and public buildings in some towns. (AP Photo/Darko Bandic) 
Members of civil defence pump flooding waters back into Zrmanja river in Obrovac, Croatia, Tuesday, May 16, 2023. Heavy rain in recent days caused some rivers to overflow their banks, flooding homes, roads and public buildings in some towns. (AP Photo/Darko Bandic) 
This aerial photo provided by the Italian Firefighters shows flooded fields in the area of Senigallia, in the northern Italian region of Emilia Romagna Tuesday, May 16, 2023. Unusually heavy rains have caused major flooding in Emilia Romagna, where trains were stopped and schools were closed in many towns while people were asked to leave the ground floors of their homes and to avoid going out. (Vigili del Fuoco via AP) 
This photo provided by the Italian Firefighters shows firefighters rescuing a person from a flooded house in Riccione, in the northern Italian region of Emilia Romagna, Tuesday, May 16, 2023. Unusually heavy rains have caused major flooding in Emilia Romagna, where trains were stopped and schools were closed in many towns while people were asked to leave the ground floors of their homes and to avoid going out. (Vigili del Fuoco via AP) 
This aerial photo provided by the Italian Firefighters shows firefighters show flooded houses in Cesena, in the northern Italian region of Emilia Romagna Tuesday, May 16, 2023. Unusually heavy rains have caused major floodings in Emilia Romagna, where trains were stopped and schools were closed in many towns while people were asked to leave the ground floors of their homes and to avoid going out. (Vigili del Fuoco via AP) 
This aerial photo provided by the Italian Firefighters shows firefighters show flooded houses in Cesena, in the northern Italian region of Emilia Romagna Tuesday, May 16, 2023. Unusually heavy rains have caused major floodings in Emilia Romagna, where trains were stopped and schools were closed in many towns while people were asked to leave the ground floors of their homes and to avoid going out. (Vigili del Fuoco via AP) 
Sandbags are lined up along a flooded street in Bologna, Italy, Tuesday, May 16, 2023. Unusually heavy rains have caused major floodings in Emilia Romagna, where trains were stopped and schools were closed in many towns while people were asked to leave the ground floors of their homes and to avoid going out. (Michele Nucci/LaPresse via AP) 
Sandbags are lined up along a flooded street in Bologna, Italy, Tuesday, May 16, 2023. Unusually heavy rains have caused major floodings in Emilia Romagna, where trains were stopped and schools were closed in many towns while people were asked to leave the ground floors of their homes and to avoid going out. (Michele Nucci/LaPresse via AP) 
Sandbags are lined up along a flooded street in Bologna, Italy, Tuesday, May 16, 2023. Unusually heavy rains have caused major floodings in Emilia Romagna, where trains were stopped and schools were closed in many towns while people were asked to leave the ground floors of their homes and to avoid going out. (Michele Nucci/LaPresse via AP) 
People crosses a flooded street in Bologna, Italy, Tuesday, May 16, 2023. Unusually heavy rains have caused major floodings in Emilia Romagna, where trains were stopped and schools were closed in many towns while people were asked to leave the ground floors of their homes and to avoid going out. (Michele Nucci/LaPresse via AP) 
A view of an overflowed area of Cesena, Italy, Wednesday, May 17, 2023. The mayor of the city of Cesena, Enzo Lattuca, posted a video early Wednesday on Facebook to warn that continued heavy rains in the Emilia-Romagna region could again flood the Savio river and smaller tributaries. He urged residents to move to upper floors of their homes and avoid riverbanks, and announced the closure to traffic of some bridges and streets after heavy flooding sent rivers of mud sloshing through town. (LaPresse via AP) 
A view of an overflowing Savio river in Cesena, central Italy, Wednesday, May 17, 2023. The mayor of the city of Cesena, Enzo Lattuca, posted a video early Wednesday on Facebook to warn that continued heavy rains in the Emilia-Romagna region could again flood the Savio river and smaller tributaries. He urged residents to move to upper floors of their homes and avoid riverbanks, and announced the closure to traffic of some bridges and streets after heavy flooding sent rivers of mud sloshing through town. (LaPresse via AP) 
This photo provided by the Italian Coast guard shows rescuers saving a man from the roof of a flooded house, in the area of the town of Faenza in the northern Italian region of Emilia Romagna, Wednesday, May 17, 2023. Unusually heavy rains have caused major floodings in Emilia Romagna, where trains were stopped and schools were closed in many towns while people were asked to leave the ground floors of their homes and to avoid going out. (Guardia Costiera via AP) 
This photo provided by the Italian Coast guard shows a man on the roof of a flooded house just before being rescued by helicopter, in the area of the town of Faenza in the northern Italian region of Emilia Romagna, Wednesday, May 17, 2023. Unusually heavy rains have caused major floodings in Emilia Romagna, where trains were stopped and schools were closed in many towns while people were asked to leave the ground floors of their homes and to avoid going out. (Guardia Costiera via AP) 
This photo provided by the Italian Coast guard shows rescuers saving a man from the roof of a flooded house, in the area of the town of Faenza in the northern Italian region of Emilia Romagna, Wednesday, May 17, 2023. Unusually heavy rains have caused major floodings in Emilia Romagna, where trains were stopped and schools were closed in many towns while people were asked to leave the ground floors of their homes and to avoid going out. (Guardia Costiera via AP) 
This photo provided by the Italian Carabinieri police shows flooded fields in the northern Italian region of Emilia Romagna, Wednesday, May 17, 2023. Unusually heavy rains have caused major floodings in Emilia Romagna, where trains were stopped and schools were closed in many towns while people were asked to leave the ground floors of their homes and to avoid going out. (Carabinieri via AP) 
Cars queue on the A14 highway near Bologna, in the northern Italian region of Emilia Romagna, Wednesday, May 17, 2023. Unusually heavy rains have caused major floodings in Emilia Romagna, where trains were stopped and schools were closed in many towns while people were asked to leave the ground floors of their homes and to avoid going out. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno) 
FILE – Red Bull driver Max Verstappen of the Netherlands leads during the Emilia Romagna Formula One Grand Prix, at the Enzo and Dino Ferrari racetrack, in Imola, Italy, Sunday, April 24, 2022. This weekend’s Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix in northern Italy was canceled Wednesday, May 17, 2023, because of deadly floods in the region. Formula One said it made the decision for safety reasons and to avoid any extra burden on the emergency services, after consulting with Italian political figures. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno, File) 
FILE – Red Bull driver Max Verstappen of the Netherlands leads at the start of the Emilia Romagna Formula One Grand Prix, at the Enzo and Dino Ferrari racetrack in Imola, Italy, Sunday, April 24, 2022. This weekend’s Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix in northern Italy was canceled Wednesday, May 17, 2023, because of deadly floods in the region. Formula One said it made the decision for safety reasons and to avoid any extra burden on the emergency services, after consulting with Italian political figures. (Guglielmo Mangiapane/Pool Photo via AP, File)
ROME | Exceptional rains Wednesday in a drought-struck region of northern Italy swelled rivers over their banks, killing at least six people, forcing the evacuation of thousands and prompting officials to warn that Italy needs a national plan to combat climate change-induced flooding.
The heavy rains and floods also forced Formula One to cancel this weekend’s Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix to not overtax emergency crews that were already stretched thin in responding to the emergency.
Days of rainstorms stretched across a broad swath of northern Italy and the Balkans, where “apocalyptic” floods, landslides and evacuations were also reported in Croatia, Bosnia and Slovenia.
The president of Emilia-Romagna, Stefano Bonaccini, said six people were killed and others unaccounted for in flooding that forced the evacuation of thousands of people.
Italian Civil Protection Minister Nello Musemeci called for a new nationwide hydraulic engineering plan to adapt to the impact of increasing incidents of floods and landslides. At a briefing, he noted that an average of 200 millimeters (7.9 inches) of rain had fallen in 36 hours in the region, with some areas registering 500 millimeters (19.7 inches) in that period.
“If you consider that this region averages 1,000 millimeters (39.3 inches) of rain in a year, you realize the impact that these rains have had in these hours,” Musemeci said.
Citing the November landslide in Ischia, which killed a dozen people, Musemeci said that Italy is increasingly experiencing Africa-style tropical weather, with long periods of drought punctuated by intense rainfall that can’t be absorbed by the soil.
“Nothing will ever be the same again … and what has happened in these hours is evidence of that,” Musemeci said. “When soil remains dry for a long time, instead of increasing its absorption capacity, it ends up cementing and allowing rainfall to continue flowing over the surface and causing absolutely unimaginable damage.”
The mayor of the city of Cesena, Enzo Lattuca, posted a video early Wednesday on Facebook to warn that continued downpours in the Emilia-Romagna region could flood the Savio river and smaller tributaries for a second day. He urged residents to move to upper floors of their homes and avoid low-lying areas and riverbanks. He announced the closure to traffic of some bridges and streets after rivers of mud sloshed through town and into basements and storefronts.
Museumeci said that 5,000 people had been evacuated, 50,000 were without electricity, and more than 100,000 were without cellphone or landline use.
The deputy chief of the Civil Protection agency, Titti Postiglione, said that rescue operations for those needing emergency evacuations were particularly difficult given so many roads and routes were flooded and phone service interrupted. Speaking on Sky TG24, she noted that the affected flood zone covered a broad swath of four provinces which, until the heavy rains, had been parched by a prolonged drought.
Some regional train routes remained suspended Wednesday around Bologna and Ravenna, with severe delays elsewhere, the Italian state railway said.
Premier Giorgia Meloni, who was traveling to the G-7 meeting in Japan, said the government was monitoring the situation and was prepared to approve emergency aid.
In the Balkans, the swollen Una river flooded parts of northern Croatia and northwestern Bosnia, where authorities announced a state of emergency. The mayor of the town of Bosanska Krupa in Bosnia said that hundreds of homes had been flooded.
“We have an apocalypse,” Amin Halitovic told regional N1 network. “We can no longer count the flooded buildings. It’s never been like this.”
Dozens of landslides were reported in eastern Slovenia, many of which endangered homes and infrastructure.
In Croatia, hundreds of soldiers and rescue teams continued bringing food and other necessities to people in flood-hit areas who have been isolated in their homes. No casualties have been reported so far.
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A previous version of this story was corrected to show that Meloni was en route to Japan, not coming home.
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Jovana Gec contributed from Belgrade, Serbia.