ROME: There are some 20 dead and 40 missing in Italy’s storm and land sliding, Italian media said late Friday.

Some 250 millimetres (10 inches) of rain fell on northeastern Sicily in the space of a few hours on Thursday, triggering mudslides that collapsed two buildings, carried off cars and cut off roads throughout the region.

Rescue workers and sniffer dogs searched for survivors in the rubble of the two buildings and in numerous communities in the Messina region cut off by mudslides, but searches were halted overnight due to dangers to rescuers.

At least 20 people died and 40 were missing, Sicily emergency services spokesman Giampiero Gliubizzi said.

"Most of the dead and seriously injured were in two buildings that collapsed in mudslides," Gliubizzi said, adding that several hundred people suffered some form of injury. At least 10 were seriously injured and some 415 people were homeless, officials said.

Mudslides included one that stretched over 3.5 kilometres (two miles), cutting off communications and sweeping away dozens of cars between Messina and several coastal towns south of the city in the northeast of the island. The government has declared a state of emergency in the region. Messina city officials said they feared a heavier toll as some parts of the southern island remained inaccessible.