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.About 250 people were evacuated from their homes Friday after the equivalent of a month's worth of rain fell in six hours,

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.

There has been flooding and landslides in parts of northern Italy as red alerts cover cities including Florence and Pisa. Torrential rain prompted the alerts for parts of Tuscany and Emilia-Romagna, with heavy and persistent rainfall expected into the afternoon on Friday.