Buildings Collapsed and Vehicles Thrown Into Sea as Landslides Hit Italian Island; At Least 12 People Reported Missing

Landslides struck the island of Ischia in Italy following heavy rain on Saturday, November 26, leaving at least 12 people missing.

Local sources said the mudslides caused buildings to collapse and vehicles to be thrown into the sea as the disaster shook the Italian island, where the port town of Casamicciola Terme on the part was affected.

Initial reports estimated that 10 people were unaccounted for.

Ischia Landslide Disaster

The south Italian island of Ischia's environment became muddy after receiving substantial amount of rainfall, forcing rockfalls to push cars and buses into the open waters.

It is still unclear if there were any casualties in the Casamicciola landslide since local reports about it are conflicting.

However, the prefect of Naples Claudio Palomba, during a news conference, said the confirmed death toll so far is one, a woman who was found dead and other people are yet to be found, as cited by the European television network Euronews.

However, Italian Vice Premier Matteo Salvini earlier on Saturday stated that eight people were confirmed dead.

Nevertheless, Salvini's statement was retracted by Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi, saying no deaths have been confirmed yet.

Piantedosi estimated between 10 to 12 people were missing following the landslides, as cited by AccuWeather from news agency ANSA.

Piantedosi also told RAI state television that the incident is very complicated and serious because there are potentially some people still under the mud, the US weather forecasting company cited.

Severe Storm Weather

Prior to the recent Italy landslide, a severe storm weather with torrential rain battered Campania, a region that surround Ischia and the nearby city of Naples for several days, which resulted not only vehicles being swept but also homes, according to the BBC.

Search operations are also still ongoing as of Saturday evening local time.

One Ischia resident said she heard a loud thunder followed by the landslide which destroyed entire buildings, according to photo captions shared by Ciro De Luca to Reuters, as cited by the UK broadcasting company.

The powerful impact of the mudslide was enough to bring the said buses and cars into the Tyrrhenian Sea, the Reuters photo caption said.

Heavy Rain and Landslides

In previous natural disasters, landslides are one of the deadliest events that can occur with little or without warning.

In most instances, these disturbances of mud and soil are caused by various weather and geological phenomenon.

In the case of the Ischia landslide, the prolonged rainfall softened up the mountainsides, causing the catastrophic event.

According to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), landslides are defined as the movement of a chunk of rock, debris, or earth toward a downward slope.

A type of "mass wasting," which entails any down-slope movement of rock and soil under the influence of gravity, can be caused by other factors, including snowmelt, erosion, earthquakes, and volcanic activity.

The USGS also said human activities can also caused the occurrence of landslides.