- Title: Italy: Torrential Rains Cause Mudslides Claiming At Least 46 Lives
- Date: 7th May 1998
- Summary: Thousands of rescue workers and soldiers have been scouring villages in southern Italy in a desperate search for some 70 people still missing after mudslides killed at least 46 people. The Italian Interior Ministry's civil protection agency updated the death toll on May 7 to 46 after finding more victims buried in the flows of mud and rocks that took villages in the Campania region south of Naples by surprise. Many children were feared to be among the dead and missing. Around 2,000 people have been left homeless and have been evacuated to other centres. Initial estimates of damage amounted to around 30 trillion lire (18 billion US dollars). The mudslides are one of the worst natural disasters to hit Italy in years and come just months after three strong earthquakes killed 11 people and left more than 1,000 people homeless in the central region of Umbria. Days of torrential rain swept mud and topsoil off mountains and hills in the areas affected and combined to create a fast-flowing wave of mud, which some locals have described as similar to lava flows. Rescue co-ordinators despatched 19 helicopters to fly over the region in search of survivors who may have been trapped in isolated hamlets after roads were cut off by avalanches. The rivers of mud that swept away cars, trees and boulders hit the villages of Sarno, Quindici, Bracigliano and Siano hardest. Sarno has so far suffered the highest toll with 32 dead, a tragedy bound to affect most families in such a small community. Earth movers and trucks were brought into Sarno, 30 km (17 miles) east of Naples in Salerno province, to help clear one of the main roads in the village where some houses were still swamped in mud and victims were feared buried. Farmers in the area mobilised to help in the rescue operation as crowds of distraught and weeping villagers waited to discover the fate of relatives, friends and neighbours. Shock and dismay began turning to bitterness as villagers began to complain about the slow reaction of rescue services to reach the region. Some experts have blamed mass construction, poor infrastructure and lack of planning by local authorities.
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- Location: ITALY SARNO
- Reuters ID: LDL00128T5NP7
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