At least 17 dead after cyclone hits Sardinia

At least 17 people have been killed in flooding and hundreds made homeless after a cylone swept over the Mediterranean island of Sardinia, Italian authorities said.

The government declared a state of emergency after Cyclone Cleopatra dropped 450mm of rain in an hour and a half overnight, causing rivers to burst their banks, sweeping away cars and flooding homes across the island.

"This is a national tragedy," Prime Minister Enrico Letta said.The declaration of a state of emergency will allow resources to be freed up more quickly to reach devastated areas, with swathes of the island under muddy flood waters that covered cars and swamped houses.