Harrowing photos show the devastating aftermath of a landslide on an Italian island that has left at least 10 people missing

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Taiyler Simone MitchellNov 27, 2022, 11:12 IST
Harrowing photos show the devastating aftermath of a landslide on an Italian island that has left at least 10 people missing

Damaged cars lie at a street following a landslide on the Italian holiday island of Ischia, Italy November 26, 2022.REUTERS/Ciro de Luca

  • Ischia, an island in Italy, was struck by heavy rains, prompting a devastating landslide.
  • The landslide killed one person and a dozen more are missing.
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Torrential rain led to a landslide on an Italian island — leading to at least one person's death.

 

Italy's National Research Council said nearly 5 inches of rain fell in the region on Saturday from midnight to 6 a.m. local time, "a number never reached in such a period," according to The New York Times.

Ischia, which has an area of just 18 square miles, is a volcanic island in Southern Italy near Naples.

Ischia, which has an area of just 18 square miles, is a volcanic island in Southern Italy near Naples.
Damaged cars and debris block an alley following a landslide on the Italian holiday island of Ischia, Italy November 26, 2022.REUTERS/Ciro de Luca

Source: Brittanica

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The disaster killed one woman, The New York Times confirmed.

The disaster killed one woman, The New York Times confirmed.
Residents clean up outside a building following a landslide on the Italian holiday island of Ischia, Italy November 26, 2022.REUTERS/Ciro de Luca

The Italian Vice Premier Matteo Salvini initially said the landslide resulted in a death toll of at least eight people, but the statistic was later revised by Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi, according to the Associated Press.

One woman is confirmed dead at the time of writing, according to The New York Times.

There are at least 10 to 12 people missing and at least 100 more stranded on the island, the Associated Press reported.

There are at least 10 to 12 people missing and at least 100 more stranded on the island, the Associated Press reported.
Rescuers help an injured person following a landslide on the Italian holiday island of Ischia, Italy, in this handout photo obtained by Reuters on November 26, 2022.Carabinieri/Handout via REUTERS

Source: Associated Press

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Finding missing individuals in the landslide will likely prove to be "very complicated."

Finding missing individuals in the landslide will likely prove to be "very complicated."
A woman looks from a balcony at a street covered in debris and damaged vehicles following a landslide on the Italian holiday island of Ischia, Italy November 26, 2022.REUTERS/Ciro de Luca TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY

"The situation is very complicated and very serious because probably some of those people are under the mud," Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi told RAI state TV, per the Associated Press.

At least 8 people had been rescued, not including the 10 to 12 still missing, according to CNN.

More than 100 firefighters and doctors made their way to the island to help.

More than 100 firefighters and doctors made their way to the island to help.
A firefighter stands next to damaged cars following heavy rains that caused a landslide on Ischia island on November 26, 2022.ELIANO IMPERATO/AFP via Getty Images

A total of 70 firefighters and 44 doctors waded through the tough weather conditions to get to the island, according to The New York Times.

"We want to thank all the rescue workers who, in extremely difficult conditions, at the risk of their own lives, managed to land on the island today," Italy's foreign minister, Antonio Tajani, told reporters in Naples, according to the Times.

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Ischia is "naturally so vulnerable," an official told the Times.

Ischia is "naturally so vulnerable," an official told the Times.
This photograph taken on November 26, 2022 shows damaged buildings following a landslide caused by heavy rains in Casamicciola on the island of Ischia.CIRO FUSCO/Ansa/AFP via Getty Images

In 2017, the island was struck by a 4.0 earthquake that killed two women and injured three dozen more individuals, The New York Times reported that year.

"Ischia is a very fragile territory — it's a volcanic formation that has been subject to wild soil consumption and building at all costs for decades," Michele Buonomo, an official with the Italian environmental association Legambiente, told the Times Saturday. "Such conditions further endanger an area that is naturally so vulnerable."

Climate change will likely make disasters like these more common.

"Intense rainfalls like today's have become more and more frequent," Buonomo added. "And so climate change will only exacerbate the high hydrological risks that some areas in Italy like Ischia already have."

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