Status: 12/01/2022 3:48 p.m
After the severe flooding and landslides on the Italian island of Ischia, rescue workers continue to search for missing persons. At least ten dead have now been recovered. Hundreds of people had to leave their homes.
At least ten people died in the devastating landslides on Ischia over the weekend. This was announced by the civil defense in Italy. A total of 290 people had to leave their homes and were housed in hotels, and 900 buildings were damaged. The island in the Gulf of Naples had been hit by violent storms.
Search for missing woman continues
According to civil protection, two of the four most recently missing residents of the Italian Mediterranean island have now been found. In the afternoon, the emergency services then discovered a dead woman, as fire brigade spokesman Luca Cari confirmed on Rainews24 transmitter.
The men are therefore the 38-year-old father of the three children who died in the storm on Saturday night and had already been found, and a 31-year-old whose partner also died. Two women – including the mother of the children – were still missing. It can be assumed that the body found in the afternoon is one of the two women. Another woman is still being sought in the mud and boulders.
Five people were injured in the landslides, Civil Protection Minister Nello Musumeci reported in Parliament.
Unauthorized Home Debate
During inspections, experts have so far classified 45 buildings as so damaged that they can no longer be entered. According to Musumeci, 56 other houses are also at risk. In the next few days, the remaining 950 houses in the affected area will be checked by the fire brigade.
Among them could be houses that were built without permission: these are often in areas that are classified as dangerous, such as Ischia. Debate continues in Italy on how to proceed in such cases. The president of the Campania region, to which Ischia belongs, recently demanded that all illegal buildings be demolished.