Italian Landslide—Captured On Video—Leaves At Least 12 Missing In Ischia

Topline

At least 12 people are missing and one person confirmed dead after a devastating landslide swept through the Italian island of Ischia early Saturday morning, local officials confirmed, leaving a pile of debris and mud throughout the hillside neighborhood on the popular vacation island off the coast of Naples.

Key Facts

The landslide was triggered by torrential rain that caused severe flooding in the port city of Casamicciola Terme, where Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi said the “situation is very complicated,” with people stuck “probably under the mud, who don’t answer the calls,” Italian outlet Tg2 reported.

The death toll from the landslide in the popular Italian tourist destination has not yet been confirmed, although Naples Mayor Gaetano Manfredi said one death has been “certainly confirmed,” while more than a dozen people remain missing, Italian outlet Domani reported.

Italian Vice Premier Matteo Salvini had told reporters earlier in the day that eight people had been killed.

Although rescue efforts are underway—with evacuation orders in place for roughly 200 people—Piantedosi said poor weather conditions are making that effort demanding, Corriere della Sera reported.

Videos and images posted on social media showed vehicles, furniture and trees scattered along the Italian hillside, as muddy water swept through the island, leaving debris strewn throughout the neighborhood, engulfing entire buildings.

Key Background

The first landslide started around 3 a.m. local time, followed by a second two hours later, according to a resident on the island, who spoke to Italy’s Ansa news outlet, the BBC reported. Between 4.76 and 6.10 inches of rain had fallen in just six hours leading up to the landslide, Corriere della Sera reported. The devastating landslide comes five years after a 4.0-magnitude earthquake killed two people, injured more than three dozen and left significant damage in the Ischia towns of Casamicciola and Lacco Ameno.

Tangent

Massimiliano Fazzini, a climate scientist at the Italian Society of Environmental Geology attributed the heavy rainfall and recent dramatic flooding to climate change, saying, “Climate is an emergency, we need to intervene immediately.” Ischia has been hit by three flooding events in the past month, Fazzini said. Along with more severe droughts, rising sea levels and warming temperatures, scientists have claimed climate change will also lead to more extreme rain events. Those events could likely cause greater erosion and increase the risk of landslides as soils become wetter and less stable, according to a report from the University of Washington College of the Environment.

Further Reading

Italy landslide: Deaths feared after homes swept away in Ischia (BBC)

Landslide leaves up to a dozen missing on Italian island (Associated Press)

Landslide Ischia, first confirmed victim: she is a woman. Piantedosi: “Still 12 missing”. Saved newborn and parents (Corriere della Sera)