In some areas of hilly and mountainous Italy, landslides are not uncommon. Indeed yesterday in Maierato in the Calabrian province of Vibo Valentia the earth moved.
Someone was there to catch the event on film and a video of this landslide made it onto YouTube, and I’ve added it for you to see. I found it frightening.
The causes are not yet known, but investigators are looking into whether human intervention may have played a part.
Here is the video.
Landslide in Maierato in the province of Vibo Valentia in Calabria, Italy
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s9F6OPvlkww[/youtube]
Stop reading, start speaking
Stop translating in your head and start speaking Italian for real with the only audio course that prompt you to speak.
This is where the landslide occurred – use the “-” sign to zoom out so you can understand where this is in Italy:
[googlemap lat=”38.707411″ lng=”16.190023″ width=”450px” height=”300px” zoom=”12″ type=”G_NORMAL_MAP”]Italy[/googlemap]
Maierato Evacuated
All of Maierato’s 2300 or so inhabitants have been evacuated as a precautionary measure. Many of those forced out by the landslide are staying with relatives, although some 300 people are staying in a local sports centre and police training centre.
A Reuter’s Italy press report states that poor weather conditions are forecast for the next 24 to 30 hours in the area. This will increase the risk of further landslides.
Landslide is ‘frana’ in Italian. If you are hunting for a house in Italy in an uphill area, ask a few questions about the area and find out if it is susceptible to landslides. Be suspicious if the price of your dream property appears to be very low.
Landslides can sweep houses away in the blink of an eye.
