Storm on Ischia: number of dead rises to seven

Created: 11/28/2022, 5:20 am

By: Stefanie Fischhaber

After the violent storm on the Italian island of Ischia, the rescue work continues.

The death toll continues to rise.

The Italian government declared a state of emergency.

Casamicciola – Cars sunk in the mud, buses torn into the sea, rubble and devastation in the streets: violent storms caused flooding and chaos in the north of the Italian Mediterranean island of Ischia on Saturday.

The death toll has now risen to five.

Rescuers are still looking for missing people.

The government declared a state of emergency on Ischia for a year.

Heavy storm in Italy: Five dead on Ischia

Seven people, including two women and a little girl, lost their lives in the mud.

The fire department confirmed this on Sunday evening via Twitter.

Among the dead is a 22-day-old baby and a family.

Some sustained injuries.

On Sunday evening, the rescuers were still looking for other missing people.

Fire brigade divers checked whether there were any victims in the cars washed into the sea.

The authorities were at times deployed with around 370 firefighters and police officers.

Specialists, vehicles and other reinforcements left the mainland for the island in the Gulf of Naples.

The military dispatched helicopters and rescued three adults and two children who were stranded at a resort.

Elsewhere, emergency services rescued a man who was up to his chest in the water in a building in the dark, as videos showed.

A small excavator struggled lonely through the mud-covered streets and tried to pull the partly completely destroyed cars out of the dirt.

Landslide on the Italian holiday island: the government declares a state of emergency on Ischia

According to the latest information, the rescue workers took 230 people out of their homes and put them in a hotel.

Many had not been able to leave their homes in the affected part of the island for hours.

The administration instructed people to do so.

Many had no electricity.

Schools, cemeteries and parks remained closed on Saturday.

A violent storm on the Italian island of Ischia left chaos and devastation in its wake.

© Salvatore Laporta/ dpa

Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni called her ministers to a meeting in Rome on Sunday morning.

The government declared a state of emergency on Ischia for a year in order to be able to release aid funds more quickly.

Two million euros are earmarked for reconstruction, which will also be coordinated by an extraordinary commissioner.

The storm broke in the early hours of the morning over the island with just over 60,000 inhabitants.

The coastal town of Casamicciola in the north was particularly affected.

Between houses, a landslide ate a path of destruction in a slope, as photos showed.

The area was considered a risk area.