Italy: Around 10 people have been killed in overnight floods in Marche, Italy, authorities said.

Torrential rains late Thursday caused rivers and streams to overflow their banks and inundate coastal towns around the regional capital, Ancona.

About 400 millimetres (16 inches) of rain - half a year's worth - was recorded in just a few hours.

Rescue workers are still searching for four people, including a child, who got swept away when the river overflowed its banks.

"It was like an earthquake." Local mayor Ludovico Caverni told RAI state radio.

According to a local report, when the Misa River overflowed its banks, a mother tried to escape from her car and her baby was swept away.

Rescue workers were able to rescue the mother but her six-year-old child has not been found yet. Local outlets are reporting that the child is one of several children who have gone missing in the flood.

In addition to the 10 dead, Italian newspapers report that around 50 people are being treated in hospitals for hypothermia and other injuries in the floods.

More than 180 firefighters are assisting in the rescue operation, evacuating people who took shelter in trees or roofs to safety.

Footage shows some of the rescuers using dinghy rafts and helicopters to reach the trapped families.

An unusually dry summer left nearby lands parched in the coastal area and unable to absorb the copious volumes of water falling down.

Although rain was predicted in the area - local officials say the subsequent flooding took everyone by surprise.

"We had the usual warning of rain, but nobody expected anything like this," Marche regional official Stefano Aguzzi told reporters.

Weather officials said the severity of the floods was explained by a combination of two things: unusually hot September temperatures, and a persistent drought over the summer.

Because of the heat, the sea was warmer than normal this time of year, and the air held more moisture.

When moisture did come in the form of rain, the ground was too dry to absorb the falling water quickly.

Abnormally warm weather and low rainfall have exacerbated water shortages in northern Italy and heightened fears of the effects of climate change.