One of the victims drowned after being caught up in a mudslide near the village of Malborghetto Valbruna while the other died when a small hotel collapsed on a mountainside, rescue workers said.

Two thirds of the 300 residents of Dogna were evacuated when floodwaters swept down a nearby river following day-long rain, swamping the town hall to a depth of 40 centimetres (16 inches).

As many Germans and Austrians were on their way home after the holidays, traffic was halted on the A23 Palmanova-Tarvisio highway due to two mudslides while many other roads were blocked.

TERRA.WIRE