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A 'water bomb' that pummelled parts of the northern Italian region of Lombardy with rain and hail over the course of several hours on Tuesday night felled trees and flooded homes, national media reported.

The region's capital of Milan recorded 40mm of rainfall between 11pm and 2am, with the Città Studi, Isola, Maggiolina and Corbetta neighbourhoods and the roads around the Navigli canals reported to be worst affected.

The northern city experienced more rainfall on Tuesday night than it would typically receive in the first two weeks of July combined, meteorologist Mattia Gussoni of the weather site meteo.it told reporters.

Firefighters were reportedly called to the scene in at least 20 different locations, to move fallen trees and branches and carry out interventions on flooded basements.


Substantial damage was also reported in the municipality of Valvarrone on Lake Como, where a motorist who became stuck between two landslides had to be taken to safety by firefighters who approached on foot.

Meanwhile Cremona, to the south-east of Milan, received 85mm of rain - more than the average for an entire summer month.

No deaths or injuries as a result of Tuesday night's rainfall were reported as of Wednesday morning.

The summer thunder-and-hailstorm was caused by a combination of warm air and high humidity, said Gussoni.

The area could experience more rain on Thursday, before a heatwave forecast to bring temperatures of 35-36C arrives over the weekend.

Severe flooding after heavy rainfall in Italy's northeastern Emilia Romagna region claimed 15 lives in May.

Earlier this week, a mother and daughter aged 96 and 63 were reportedly admitted to hospital with hypothermia after a hailstorm in the province of Como on Monday smashed thorough the glass on the windows and door of their home.