The Italian government declared a state of emergency on the island of Ischia after a landslide

The first emergency aid of two million euros was released after an extraordinary cabinet meeting

Sonia Luger / AFPTV / VIGILI DEL FUOCO / VATICAN MEDIA / AFPThe area was hit by a landslide on Saturday 26th

Government Italia On Sunday, the 27th, it declared a state of emergency on the island of Ischia after a landslide killed at least seven people and left many missing. Civil Defense Minister Nilo Musumichi said first emergency aid worth 2 million euros (a similar dollar amount) was released, after an extraordinary cabinet meeting, which is needed to declare a state of emergency. Italy often declares a state of emergency after earthquakes, volcanic eruptions or heavy rains, as it allows to speed up the process of mobilizing funds and means. Hundreds of mud volunteers are involved in the clean-up. On the city streets one could see cars and buses buried in the mud. A crowd of bulldozers tried to cut through the rubble to freely access homes and businesses. At the site, more than 200 members of the civil defense and security forces are still searching for dozens of missing persons. Island resident Salvatorni Lorraine, 45, believes the landslide was due to a lack of maintenance and prevention “because nature is nature, there was an earthquake, but little prevention.” “A mountain came down, there was devastation in the shops, the cars, the hotel… That was nine years ago. Now I’m cleaning up my grandmother’s shop,” he explains. Saturday’s tragedy came weeks after 11 people were killed by torrential rains that swept through east-central Italy.

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* With information from AFP