Anger grows as illegal construction partly blamed for landslide deaths on Italian island

As rescuers continued to search for five people still missing after a catastrophic landslide in Ischia, anger was growing on the southern Italian island on Sunday over the years of rampant illegal construction that contributed to the disaster.

Seven people, including a three-week-old baby and a pair of young siblings, are confirmed to have died in Saturday’s landslide, which was triggered by a violent storm that sent mud and debris from Monte Epomeo, a 789-metre (2,590ft) peak, crashing into the hamlet of Casamicciola Terme. One victim – 32-year-old Eleonora Sirabella – has been named. The others, who include the infant boy’s parents, a five-year-old girl and her 11-year-old brother, a 31-year-old island resident and a Bulgarian tourist, have not yet been officially identified.

“Mud and water tend to fill every space,’’ Luca Cari, the spokesperson for Italian firefighters, told RAI state TV on Sunday. “Our teams are searching with hope, even if it is very difficult.”

The same hamlet was hit by a landslide in 2009, when a 14-year-old girl died, and damaged again by an earthquake in 2017.

Dozens of homes were destroyed, trees uprooted and cars swept into the sea in the latest tragedy.

Giorgia Meloni’s government, which came to power in October, announced a state of emergency on Sunday, adding it has set aside €2m (£1.7m), the first tranche of a fund that will be spent on repairing the damage.

But for many, the move is too little, too late.

“I’m furious,” said Franco, as he cleared mud from the entrance of what was a hotel owned by his family. “This is the second time I’ve had to do this – after the 2009 landslide they made lots of promises to make the area more secure. They knew the risks but did nothing.”

The storm, which followed days of heavy rain across much of Italy, is reported 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.

Casamicciola Terme is home to just over 2,000 people and lies in an area of the island – known for its natural hot springs and popular with Italian and foreign tourists – that is extremely vulnerable to landslides and seismic activity. Seventy-two landslides were registered to have occurred in the hamlet between 2018 and 2021.

The number of illegally built homes and other buildings – estimated at 28,000 across the island – has been blamed for exacerbating the damage.

“They’ve been giving permits to people to effectively build illegally since the 1920s,” said Vincenzo Capuano, as he assessed the destroyed premises of what was his cultural association. “So we’re not talking about just a few years. These were permits given for houses, hotels, you name it.”

Capuano, whose car was swept away in the disaster, is friends with a man in his 60s who was hospitalised on Saturday after being pulled alive from the thick mud.

The illegal building also meant that trees, which play an essential role as buttresses in reducing landslide risk, were torn down. Experts also say that a geological survey assessing the risks in the area was last done 20 years ago.

“This is a region predisposed to landslides,” said Micla Pennetta, a professor of geomorphology at Federico II University in Naples. “So much of the devastation in the past has influenced the current morphology of Ischia. Seismic activity also plays a part, but on top of the natural aspects we have deforestation and subsequent cementification – this reduced the capacity for water to be absorbed, enabling it to rapidly reach roads and homes, causing extreme damage.”

Pennetta added: “Not only has the geological map done 20 years ago not been updated, but it was never detailed enough to properly identify the risks. And if no proper studies are done, then people can build wherever they want.”

Ischia has a population of about 22,000 and although it attracts far less attention than its more glitzy neighbour, Capri, over the years the island has drawn a crowd who prefer more low-key holidays, including the former German chancellor Angela Merkel, and who want to experience its natural hot springs.

The island enjoyed a robust tourist trade this summer, the busiest season since the start of the coronavirus pandemic.

“We had a great summer,” said Raffaele, a taxi driver whose colleague is waiting for news of a relative who is among those missing. “This is a terrible tragedy for the island.”

Several historic spas, including Belliazzi, a vast complex built in 1854 that sits upon hot springs dating back to the Roman era, have been badly damaged. “The springs have been totally saturated,” said Carmine Bernardo, the spa’s owner.

As the sun set, a crowd of people gathered at the port of Casamicciola, where rescuers were searching the sea for possible victims. Vehicles retrieved from the sea lined the shoreline.

The wind had again picked up strength, and more storms are forecast in Ischia and other parts of Italy in the coming days.

“This is a tragedy that should never have happened,” said Pascquale Manco, who partly blames the scant maintenance of Mount Epomeo, the highest peak in Ischia, for the catastrophe. “They [the authorities] also set aside money after the 2009 landslide for maintenance, but it was never used. The mountain has not been taken care of the way it should have been. They only act in an emergency, when what we need are prevention measures.”

Manco was at the port with Rosa Pisani, whose husband’s cousin is among those missing. “We can only carry on hoping they find people alive,” he said. “Hope is the last thing to fade even if the reality tells us something different.”