Heartbreaking photos show devastating aftermath of landslide on Italian island that leaves at least 10 missing

—The New York Times (@nytimes) November 26, 2022

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

Source: Brittany

Italy’s Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini initially said the landslide claimed at least eight lives, but the statistic was later revised by Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi, according to the Associated Press.

One woman has been confirmed dead as of this writing, according to The New York Times.

Source: Associated Press

“The situation is very complicated and very serious because probably some of those people are under the mud,” Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi told state-run RAI TV, according to the Associated Press.

At least 8 people were rescued, not including 10-12 who are still missing, according to CNN.

A total of 70 firefighters and 44 medics made it through difficult weather conditions to reach the island, according to the New York Times.

“We want to thank all the rescuers who, in extremely difficult conditions, risking their lives, managed to land on the island today,” Italy’s foreign minister, Antonio Tajani, told reporters in Naples, according to the Times.

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

“Ischia is a very fragile territory: it is a volcanic formation that has been subject to savage soil consumption and construction at all costs for decades,” Michele Buonomo, an official with Italy’s environmental association Legambiente, told the Times on Saturday. “Such conditions further endanger an area that is naturally so vulnerable.”

—BBC Weather (@bbcweather) November 26, 2022

“Heavy rains like today’s have become increasingly frequent,” added Buonomo. “And so climate change will only exacerbate the high hydrological risks that some areas in Italy such as Ischia already have.”