At least 12 people have died so far in Sicily after storms and torrential rain lashed the Italian city on Saturday, authorities said. Nine of the dead, including an infant and a three-year-old child, were recovered from a single home flooded by a swollen river near Palermo, AP reported.

The owner of the house was the only one who survived the flooding, according to state TV broadcaster RaiNews24. The man had stepped outside to walk the family dogs when the water flooded in. He clung to a tree and then climbed up on a roof to escape the waters. The nine victims belonged to two families and had gathered in the country villa for the weekend.

A man’s body was found on a guardrail along a road in Palermo after floodwaters swept away his car. At least two others were reported missing on Sunday after floodwaters swept away their cars in the hill town of Corleone.

The fire department said its divers were trying to recover the bodies of two people swept away while driving near the flooded Saraceno River in the town of Cammarata near Agrigento province. Firefighters also rescued 14 people from a hotel in Montevago town. Agrigento, famous for the ruins of ancient Greek temples, is a popular tourist destination.

Northern Italy was battered by other storms earlier in the week, killing at least 15 people. The winds and rains have also razed close to 14 million trees, Reuters reported, quoting the association of Italian agricultural companies Coldiretti. A majority of them were destroyed in the northern parts.

Many of the squares and walkways in Venice were submerged in the highest floods the canal city has experienced in a decade. Angelo Borrelli, head of the Civil Protection agency, said Veneto had seen winds of up to 180 km per hour, and that the situation was “apocalyptic”.

Italy’s Interior Minister Matteo Salvini on Sunday flew over the Alpine town of Belluno, promising government assistance to the devastated cities and villages.