Vietri sul Mare – The recent landslide along the Strada Statale 163 “Amalfitana” between Vietri sul Mare and Cetara has caused the temporary closure of the main coastal road, precautionary evacuations of families, and serious inconvenience for residents and tourists.
The event, linked to heavy rainfall and the detachment of material from the slope above, did not cause injuries but refocused attention on the area's geomorphological vulnerability.
A recurring phenomenon in a fragile context
"The detachment of rock material from the slope above the road is an unfortunately recurring phenomenon in complex geomorphological contexts such as that of the Amalfi Coast," said Gaetano Sammartino, President of the Campania and Molise Section of SIGEA (Italian Society of Environmental Geology), "characterized by steep slopes, fractured rocks, and high exposure to intense weather events."
The Amalfi Coast, a UNESCO World Heritage Site of extraordinary landscape and tourist value, remains an area of high geomorphological vulnerability, where steep slopes and fractured rocks favor recurring instabilities, aggravated by climate change and increasingly intense rainfall.
The priorities indicated by SIGEA
Sammartino believes it is essential to move beyond the emergency approach and adopt a structural strategy to prevent hydrogeological risks. Priority measures include: Implementing advanced geotechnical and geostructural monitoring systems for rock faces;
Constantly update the hazard and risk mapping;
Planning of consolidation and preventive descaling interventions;
Integrate land-use planning with detailed geological studies.
"Emergency management is essential, but it cannot replace a structured prevention policy," the geologist concluded, "which must become a permanent priority on the regional and national institutional agenda."
Availability for discussion and technical support
The Campania and Molise section of SIGEA has made itself available to collaborate with local administrations, road management bodies (such as ANAS), and competent authorities, offering technical and scientific support to define effective and sustainable long-term mitigation strategies.
The appeal is clear: continued investment in prevention, instrumental monitoring, and scheduled maintenance of defense structures is the only way to reduce risks in a unique yet extremely fragile territory.
Source EDITORIAL TEAM
Comments (1)
It's strange how landslides keep recurring in these places, yet people do nothing to prevent them. They should invest more in monitoring systems and pay more attention to these obvious natural phenomena.