A landslide caused by heavy rain on the Italian vacation island of Ischia on Saturday claimed the lives of at least one person, prompting Italy to declare a state of emergency.
According to the Campania Prefecture office, as of Sunday morning, 209 more people had been evacuated from the area where the landslide occurred, eight people had been rescued, and 10 people were still missing.
In a statement on Sunday, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni declared a state of emergency due to “exceptional flood and landslide events.”
According to the statement, it went into effect on Saturday and provides €2 million ($2.082 million) in aid and assistance to the local population affected by the landslide.
Italy’s Civil Protection department told CNN on Saturday that while search and rescue efforts were ongoing in the small town of Casamicciola Terme and that reinforcements had been dispatched from Naples, weather conditions complicated the search.
Authorities told CNN that the Naples prefecture was in charge of organizing the operations. According to a tweet from the Italian Fire Brigade, 70 firefighters are currently on the island helping with search and rescue efforts.
In the early hours of Saturday, torrential rain struck Ischia in the Gulf of Naples, causing damage to vehicles, structures, and roads.
Authorities from the region and abroad earlier today shared videos and pictures documenting the devastation in the port city of Casamicciola Terme.
In a statement on Saturday, Vincenzo De Luca, the governor of the Campania region, which includes the island, thanked Prime Minister Meloni for her close communication and message of support and said, “It is a time of pain and great emergency.”
In addition to showing support for the locals and thanking the emergency services, Meloni tweeted that she was in touch with the local authorities.
According to the ANSA news agency, Ischia mayor Enzo Ferrandino called the incident a “tragedy” and advised residents to stay inside.
A cemetery near Genoa, Italy, collapsed in February 2021 due to a landslide, sending hundreds of coffins into the water.
