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At least four people have been killed in landslides in southern Switzerland and northern Italy following days of torrential rain, the BBC reported.

Two women died when a wall of mud destroyed a house near the Swiss town of Lugano on Sunday.

Over the border, a pensioner and his granddaughter were killed when a mudslide engulfed their home.

The heavy rain is expected to continue across the region, and both countries have issued major flood alerts.

The levels of lakes Lugano and Maggiore, seen below, are already dangerously high.

The region has had more rain in a few days than it would normally expect in a year.

The Ticino river burst its banks near Vigevano in northern Italy.

Further north, in the Ticino region of Switzerland, rescue workers were searching for survivors on Sunday after mud swept down a hillside and destroyed an apartment building.

Swiss authorities said two women, aged 34 and 38, had died when the mudslide hit the building in the village of Davesco-Soragno.

A third person, a 44-year-old Italian, was rescued from the rubble and taken to hospital.