Italy landslide death toll rises to 7, including newborn baby and 2 children; 5 still missing
- Statistics show the island of Ischia has a large number of houses that were built illegally, putting inhabitants at permanent risk from flooding and earthquakes
- A wave of mud, debris and stones broke away from the island’s highest mountain on Saturday and crashed down near the town of Casamicciola Terme
At least seven people, including a newborn baby and two children, were killed on the southern Italian holiday island of Ischia after a landslide caused by torrential rain devastated a small town, an official said on Sunday.
Five people were still missing, Naples prefect Claudio Palomba told a news conference. Dozens of emergency workers rushed to the island while rescue divers searched the waters off the coast, he said.
A wave of mud, debris and stones broke away from the island’s highest mountain on Saturday and crashed down over houses and roads in and around town of Casamicciola Terme.
Photographs and aerial video showed buildings smashed by the landslide and several cars pushed into the sea by what one resident described as “a waterfall of water and mud”.
Densely populated, Ischia is a volcanic island which lies some 30km (19 miles) from Naples. It draws visitors to its thermal baths and picturesque coastline.
Episodes of heavy rainfall are becoming more common and more intense in the light of climate change, experts say, exacerbating hydrogeological risks in many parts of Italy.
Pope Francis expressed his closeness to the people of Ischia during the traditional Sunday blessing in St Peter’s Square. “I am praying for the victims, for those who are suffering and for those who are involved in the rescue,” he said.