A landslide on the southern Italian island of Ischia
Italy
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Causes of a landslide on the southern Italian island of Ischia.
Densely populated, Ischia is a volcanic island which lies some 30 km (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. Statistics show Ischia has a large number of houses that were built illegally, putting inhabitants at permanent risk from flooding and earthquakes - which have often hit the hilly island over the past years.
Proposals of environmentalists to prevent damage from climate change.
The environmental association Legambiente have highlighted the need to prepare for future extreme weather events. “The climate is changing, it is now a fact,” Legambiente said, “yet Italy continues to be unprepared and citizens are often left alone to deal with the impacts.” Legambiente has appealed to the Italian government to establish a “national climate adaptation plan.” The association has called for a law against building on areas of healthy soil and the creation of a national control room to monitor climate risks.
Gallery
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![Vehicles damaged by landslides sit along the sea front at Casamicciola Terme on the island of Ischia. [Salvatore Laporta/AP Photo]](https://res.cloudinary.com/djgesv2ry/image/upload/w_1000,c_limit/q_auto/f_auto/v1727110804/AP22330509938379_aihljf.webp)
![Rescuers work to remove mud along the sea front on the island of Ischia after heavy rains caused landslides. [Salvatore Laporta/AP Photo]](https://res.cloudinary.com/djgesv2ry/image/upload/w_1000,c_limit/q_auto/f_auto/v1727111071/AP22330512491263_jlptfe.webp)
Timelines
2024
October
The landslide of 2022 remains a vivid memory in Casamicciola Terme on the island of Ischia in the Gulf of Naples. Heavy rains on Mount Epomeo in November 2022 triggered the landslide, which swept away homes and dragged cars into the sea, claiming twelve lives, including those of a three-week-old baby and two young siblings. And that was only five years after a 4.0 earthquake rattled the whole of Ischia, killing two women and forcing thousands of residents to evacuate. European Investment Bank loan of €150 million signed with Italy’s Ministry of Economy and Finance in November 2024, to rebuild public infrastructures and private buildings affected by the earthquake and floods. It’s the first tranche of a €1 billion financial package approved in October.
2022
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. Five people were missing. Dozens of emergency workers rushed to the island while rescue divers searched the waters off the coast. A wave of mud, debris and stones broke away from the island's highest mountain and crashed down over houses and roads in and around town of Casamicciola Terme. The storm, which followed days of heavy rain across much of Italy, to be the worst in 20 years to have hit Ischia, an island in the Gulf of Naples, with 126mm of rain falling in six hours.
between 2018 and 2021
Seventy-two landslides were registered to have occurred in the hamlet.
2017
August 21
The 2017 Ischia earthquake occurred on the island of Ischia, Campania, in southern Italy. The main shock occurred at 20:57 CEST (18:57 UTC) on 21 August 2017, and was rated 3.9 Mw or 4.2 mb on the moment magnitude scale. Despite the moderate magnitude, several buildings and a church collapsed. One woman died in Casamicciola Terme after being hit by rubble that fell from a church. Another woman died when her house collapsed. The sharp increase in the population between the 1950s and 1980s and the growing inflow of tourists increased the anthropogenic pressure on the island. Significant acreage of land previously used for agriculture has been developed for the construction of houses or residential buildings. Most of this development took place without any planning or building permits. Many houses and structures across the island sustained moderate to severe damage when the earthquake hit.
2009
Hamlet in Italian island of Ischia was hit by a landslide. Died a 14-year-old girl.
