At least eight people have been killed by torrential overnight rains and floods in the central Italian region of Marche, authorities said on Friday, as rescuers continued to search for four people missing. Around 400 millimetres of rain fell within two to three hours, inundating the streets of several towns around the region's capital Ancona on the Adriatic coast.

"It was like an earthquake," Ludovico Caverni, the mayor of the town of Serra Sant'Abbondio, told RAI state radio. Footage released by fire brigades showed rescuers on rafts trying to evacuate people in the seaside town of Senigallia, while others attempted to clear an underpass of debris. Stefano Aguzzi, head of civil protection at Marche's regional government, said the downpour was far stronger than had been forecast.