Rome, Europe Brief News – A state of emergency has been declared after at least four people were killed as heavy rain caused a landslide on the Italian holiday island of Ischia.
As of Sunday morning, four people remain missing, eight people have been rescued and 209 more evacuated from the area where the landslide occurred.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni announced the state of emergency over what she called “exceptional flood and landslide events” in a statement on Sunday.
It provides for €2 million ($2.082 million) in aid and assistance to the local population affected by the landslide, and came into effect from Saturday, adds the statement.
Among the dead are two children and a newborn baby.
A first emergency package of €2 million was also agreed at an extraordinary government meeting on Sunday, said the Minister of Civil Protection Nello Musumeci.
But for many, the move is too little and too late. Anger has been growing among the population over the years of illegal construction that partly contributed to the disaster.
It is estimated that thousands of houses and other buildings were constructed under illegal permits on the island.
The head of the national civil protection agency told the Italian newspaper La Stampa that 94% of municipalities in the country are “at risk of flooding, landslides, or coastal erosion”.
