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Italian Mudslide (IMPACTS (Mud deposits were up to 13 feet deep, Public…
Italian Mudslide
IMPACTS
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Public facilities were destroyed, this included hospitals, schools,
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The most effeceted towns were: Irpine, Salernitano, Sarno, Quindici. Episcopio, Taurano and Bracigliano, but over 230 were impacted.
The most dangerous areas were inhabited by the poorest civilians, who are the most hard hit, as they cannot pay effectively for future accomodation or relocation.
HUMAN CAUSES
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Many of the demolished buildings were poorly built out of concrete, and did not have proper foundations
Many homes in the area were built in very land-slide-prone sites, or too close to rivers. 24% of the area is deemed “at risk” land.
OVERVIEW
Worst affected was Samo, a town of 35000 people
Campania is Italy's most vulnerable region, with 1170 serious landslides recorded in Campania since 1892
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The area is unstable due to active volcanoes (Vesuvius), many mountains and fast-flowing rivers
May 1998, mudslides swept through towns and villages in Campania, Italy
RESPONSE
Rescuers from Civil Protection arrived only a few hours after the initial plea was given, at night time. This timing hindered rescue work, as it was too dark to start any serious rescue work and helicopters to help would be unsafe to pilot.
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The government vastly underestimated the event’s scale, too, and initially only sent a few earth-moving vehicles, that became stuck themselves
Previous aid efforts had been largely cut down from what was pledged however, due to concerns that over spending would prevent their entry into the European Union.
The government even cut funding to the Centre of Geological Studies, so that thousands of geology graduates and scientists were unemployed.
NATURAL CAUSES
The area is made of sedimentary rocks, which are predicted to eventually crumble into the nearby Tyrrhenian Sea (soil prone to erosion)
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MANAGEMENT
Geologists warned the government of the unstable buildings and risks of mudslides, but these efforts were regularly ignored
The government received criticism for not declaring a state of emergency in the region, and not giving evacuation notice, when geologists first came to believe that slides were about to occur.