Vietri sul Mare – Severe weather continues to lash the province of Salerno, opening new wounds in the fragile coastal landscape. It was a scary afternoon today in Vietri sul Mare, where around 14:35 PM, a landslide broke away from the rocky ridge on Via Madonna dell'Arco, in the Marina district.
Fortunately, there were no injuries, but the damage was extensive: debris hit several homes, tearing out the wall of a bathroom in a residential building.
Evacuation and damage
The landslide affected a private property located directly beneath the State Road 163. The mass of earth and rocks invaded the connecting road below, damaging homes. The Salerno Fire Department and Municipal Police responded immediately, and, as a precaution, ordered the evacuation of a family living in the damaged property. Fortunately, most of the affected homes are currently uninhabited, having been used primarily as vacation rentals during the summer season.
Traffic at a standstill: the "Amalfitana" highway is blocked.
The impact on traffic has been drastic. While traffic officials initially considered implementing a one-way system, the severity of the situation forced the complete closure of the Strada Statale 163 Amalfitana at kilometer 48,3. This decision was made to ensure public safety pending a new hydrogeological inspection, already scheduled for tomorrow.
Today's closure exacerbates an already critical situation: just a few days ago, the road had been reopened to alternating one-way traffic in the Fuenti area (km 47,3) after a previous landslide. The "Divina" road is thus once again severed in two very close locations, effectively isolating one of the main access points to the Amalfi Coast.
The summit in the Prefecture
Management of the emergency will be discussed tomorrow at institutional level. An emergency meeting has been convened at the Salerno Prefecture. The meeting will include Prefect Francesco Esposito, Mayor Giovanni De Simone of Vietri sul Mare, and Fortunato Della Monica, President of the Conference of Mayors of the Amalfi Coast (Mayor of Cetara), along with ANAS technicians and Fire Department officials. The goal is to assess the timeframe for safety measures and the procedures for restoring traffic.
Disruptions also in the city of Salerno
The severe weather did not spare the capital. This morning, another landslide occurred on Via Fra' Generoso in Salerno, a strategic road connecting the port and the entrance to the Amalfi Coast to the highway junctions. Once again, an order from the prefectural commissioner instituted a one-way system regulated by traffic lights, causing traffic jams and delays throughout the day.
Source EDITORIAL TEAM
Comments (2)
What's happening on the Amalfi Coast is truly terrible; the landslide in Vietri sul Mare has caused significant damage. We hope the firefighters and everyone else are doing their best to restore the situation.
There's a lack of adequate understanding of the structural condition of the building stock, to the point that the eagerness to authorize construction in a fragile, yet highly desirable, landscape operates without any regard for the needs of the area. One need only look at the small area of Via Madonna dell'Arco in Vietri to realize that for decades, only a single small house had been built there. Today, however, it features three residential structures, backed by the massive wall of State Road 163, which has always been a threat. Now, it has become a harbinger of further damage.