Severe flooding in Italy kills 2; drought persists

MILAN (AP) — Heavy rains have caused flooding in Italy’s populous Emilia-Romagna region, leaving at least two people dead as riverbeds left dry by drought overflowed their banks after a day and a half of non-stop rain. One person was swept away by flood waters while riding a bicycle in the Ravenna province, and another died near Imola when a residence was hit by a flood-triggered landslide. Another person was missing. The intense rainfall comes as Italy faces a second year of drought, which has depleted its largest river, the Po, which supports agriculture in the vast Po River Valley before emptying into the Adriatic Sea east of Bologna in Emilia-Romagna.