On Sunday (Nov. 27), Italy announced a state of emergency on the southern island of Ischia after a landslide claimed the lives of at least seven people's lives and left several others missing. Four bodies had been discovered as of Sunday afternoon, according to earlier reports in the Italian media.
On Saturday morning, a wash of mud and debris swept over the little hamlet of Casamicciola Terme, swallowing at least one house and sending cars crashing into the water, according to local media and rescue services. Following an extraordinary cabinet meeting that declared the state of emergency, the first tranche of two million euros ($2 million) in relief funding was released, according to Minister for Civil Protection Nello Musumeci.
"The toll of victims from the landslide in Casamicciola has risen to seven dead, while five are missing," Naples city prefect Claudio Palomba announced.
Matteo Piantedosi, the interior minister, had earlier issued a warning that there were individuals stranded in the mud and that the situation was "very serious."
While hundreds of volunteers, covered from head to knee in muck, worked to clear the town's streets, more than 200 rescuers continued to look for missing persons. Rain and strong gusts had made the rescue attempt difficult, and they had also caused boats carrying reinforcements from the mainland to be delayed.
On the north of Ischia, a beautiful island close to Capri that is crowded with tourists in the summer, a spa resort with 8,000 residents called Casamicciola Terme had floods of mud flowing through the streets. Cars were left smashed on the side of the road or in the river, and trees were uprooted. As workers attempted to clear the way for homes, cars, and stores, boulders were thrown everywhere.
The governor of the Campania region, where the island is located, Vincenzo De Luca, stated that "It is a time of pain and great emergency." Expressing gratitude to Prime Minister Meloni for her close communication and supportive message. In addition to showing support for the locals and praising the emergency services, Meloni tweeted that she was in touch with the local authorities. Enzo Ferrandino, the mayor of Ischia, called the occurrence a "tragedy" and asked residents to stay inside.
In his Sunday Angelus recitation, Pope Francis stated that he was praying for the victims, "those who suffer and all those who have contributed to the rescue." The fire department said earlier that two individuals had been rescued from a car that had been swept into the sea and that one house had been engulfed by the mud.
