Sharjah24 - AFP: Ischia, the little Italian island hit by a deadly landslide last weekend, is a victim of geography and weather but also of illegal construction, experts and politicians agree.
Eleven people died and one woman remains missing after a wave of mud and debris swept through the small town of Casamicciola Terme, following heavy rains across the lush island off the coast of Naples.
But WWF Italia, the environmental organisation, said it was a "predictable tragedy, with specific causes and responsibilities".
It blamed the "repeated and irresponsible management of the island's territory which, with the acceleration of the effects of climate change under way, has now become a bomb primed and ready to explode".
"It sounds like hypocrisy to mourn the victims of recent days, when we continue to build where we should not."
Experts say that both illegal and legal construction, combined with deforestation, reduces the ability of the soil to absorb large quantities of water.
Buildings erected without permission is a widespread problem across Italy.
The minister for civil protection, Nello Musumeci, acknowledged this week that "the sad and widespread problem of illegal construction" is a subject that "can no longer be avoided".
But Ischia, an island of volcanic origin which suffered a deadly earthquake in 2017, is particularly vulnerable.
Some "49 percent of the territory of Ischia is classified as at a high or very high risk of landslide... with more than 13,000 people living in these areas", Environment Minister Gilberto Pichetto said.
According to the latest report from the Italian Institute for Environmental Protection and Research (ISPRA), 93.9 percent of Italian communes are at risk of landslides, flooding or coastal erosion.
"You don't need to be a specialist to understand that illegal buildings cannot be tolerated, because they constitute a risk multiplier that goes far beyond the people that live there," said WWF.
For an optimal experience, please
