At Sant’Agata sul Santerno, an elderly man was found dead in his home and a woman was found who has yet to be identified.

In a home at Castel Bolognese, rescuers found the body of a man who reportedly refused to leave his home when the flood waters threatened; another person is missing at nearby Boncellino.

In all, dozens are said to be missing.

Shortly before, a husband and wife couple were found dead in their apartment in Russi in the province of Ravenna on Thursday afternoon.

The pair, aged 73 and 71, had been missing since Wednesday, when their son raised the alarm.

The exact cause of death was unclear, but electrocution was reportedly one of the likely possibilities.

On Tuesday and Wednesday Emilia Romagna was hit by another wave of torrential rainfall, with up to 500 mm - half the average annual precipitation - falling in 36 hours in some places and all rivers in the region bursting their banks.

A state of calamity will be declared for Emilia Romagna at next Tuesday's cabinet meeting on the flooding emergency, Environment and Energy Security Minister Gilberto Pichetto said on Thursday. (Photo: ANSA)

Thousands had to be evacuated as floodwaters rose in many built-up areas, and at least 4000 people were left without a home.

On Thursday 50,000 people were reported to be without electricity.

A state of calamity will be declared for the region at next Tuesday’s cabinet meeting, Environment and Energy Security Minister Gilberto Pichetto said on Thursday.

The government will also formalise initial emergency measures announced on Wednesday, including a freeze on mortgages and tax collection, the minister told Radio anch’io on Rai Radio 1.

Emilia Romagna Governor Stefano Bonaccini said on Thursday several billion euros would be needed to address the damage.

“The extent of the devastation caused by the bad weather is comparable to another earthquake: the damage will be quantitatively smaller, but it will be a few billion euros,” Bonnaccini, from the centre-left Democratic Party (PD), told Rai 3.

Emilia Romagna Governor Stefano Bonaccini said on Thursday several billion euros would be needed to address the damage caused by the torrential rainfall and flooding. (Photo: ANSA)

“We will rebuild everything as for the earthquake,” Bonaccini continued, referring to the 2012 earthquakes that claimed 27 lives and caused massive devastation in the region.

“We have told the government that we need a lot of resources, but also expeditious regulations,” he said.

“There is a need for a special commissioner, provisions for workers, to extend deadlines, mortgage installments, a lot of investment.

“Unfortunately, we have a lot of experience in this area,” he continued, adding that the institutions need to be “obsessed” with supporting people.

Farmers’ association Coldiretti, meanwhile said on Thursday more than 5000 farms with greenhouses, nurseries and stables and tens of thousands of hectares of vineyards, fruit orchards and arable land as well as agricultural product processing facilities were under water.

The government will ask the European Commission to activate the EU solidarity fund, Environment and Energy Security Minister Gilberto Pichetto said on Thursday.

Speaking from Bologna, the minister expressed the “most absolute commitment to stand by” the affected areas “and find the most compatible solutions for an event that has something tragic and exceptional about it”.

It is not a matter of how much is allocated, but what needs to be done, Pichetto said after taking stock of the devastation.

“Attention must be given to procedures and decision-making times,” he continued, adding that the situation represents “a national issue” and that “teamwork is needed”.

ANSA