A red weather alert issued Friday by authorities in Florence, as well as in major cities across Tuscany, after heavy rain swelled rivers and flooded streets was eased on Saturday when weather conditions improved.

Red alerts for flooding and landslides were issued for parts of Tuscany and Emilia-Romagna There has been flooding and landslides in parts of northern Italy as red alerts cover cities including Florence and Pisa.

Florence was out of danger due to the "decisive" role of a key floodgate that prevented the Arno river from bursting its banks after heavy rains, Italian authorities said Saturday. A floodgate located between the two cities,

Bad weather on Friday pummelled Tuscany and Emilia-Romagna as several rivers in the two regions were above alert level for torrential rain and flooding. In Tuscany, where schools remained closed in several cities including Florence amid an orange weather alert,