Deadly Landslide in Italy

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Listen to the story (British accent)

Italy has declared a state of emergency. Heavy rain caused a landslide on the island of Ischia on Saturday.

On Sunday morning, 10 people were missing and one person was confirmed dead. Eight people were rescued and 209 people evacuated the landslide area.

The prime minister of Italy, Giorgia Meloni, announced the state of emergency on Sunday. Residents in the area of the landslide will get €2 million ($2.08 million) in aid and assistance.

Extra emergency workers were sent from nearby Naples to the small town of Casamicciola Terme. There are 70 firefighters helping with the search and rescue, but poor weather has made it difficult.

The heavy rain on Saturday damaged cars, buildings and roads. The mayor of Ischia, Enzo Ferrandino, asked people to stay in their homes.

Vincenzo De Luca is the governor of the Campania region where Ischia is located. He thanked the prime minister for her kind messages and close contact.

In February 2021, there was another landslide near the Italian city Genoa. The landslide hit a cemetery and hundreds of coffins fell into the sea.

VOCABULARY

  • Declare – to announce or express something clearly and publicly; proclaim; state
  • State of emergency – a situation of urgent need for help and relief; an emergency situation in which the government gets special power
  • Cause – make something (usually bad) happen; create
  • Landslide – the falling of a large amount of land or ground, especially down the side of a hill when wet
  • Missing – can’t be found; not present; absent or lost
  • Confirm – to prove true or accurate; to report that something is true or fact
  • Evacuate – to leave; to get out of; to make people leave; to remove people
  • Prime minister – the head or leader of an elected government of a country
  • Announce – share information openly; to tell the public; to make a statement; to report
  • Resident – a person who has permission to live somewhere for a long time
  • Aid – help, such as money or food, given by an organization or government to people who are in a difficult situation; support; 
  • Emergency worker – firefighters, police, paramedics, first-aid workers, etc. 
  • Nearby – near; close; not far
  • Firefighter – a person who stops or puts out fires; 👨‍🚒🚒
  • Search and rescue – the activity of looking for and rescuing/helping people who are lost or in danger
  • Poor – not good; bad quality; unfavorable
  • Damage – physical harm that is done to something; destruction; injury; 
  • Mayor – the leader or person in charge of a city
  • Governor – the leader or person in charge of a state, region or large area of a country
  • Located – to be in a particular place; to be found in a specific spot; to be ‘there’;
  • Contact – communication with someone; correspondence; 
  • Cemetery – an area of ground/field in which dead bodies are buried; burial ground
  • Coffin – ⚰️; a long box in which the body of a dead person is buried or burned

QUIZ

1. 
Who asked people to stay in their homes?

2. 
The landslide in Ischia didn't hit a cemetery

Original story from CNN below: