The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1910-11-20
AN ISLAND RUINED BY RAIN
TsCHIA DEVASTATED ~ 4 -
HOt'R DOW NPOg N.
Its Villages Are AZ the Foot of the Noun
:,.ns and Their streets Are Dried
River nrts Foolish Relief Efforts
That Only D~iayea the Real Help.

sans and Their streets Are Dried
River Brtis Foolish Relief Efforts
That Only Delayed the Real Help.
NAPLES, Oct 80 Twenty -four hours
Of heavy rains caused more devastation
ard loss Of life in tn. Gulf OF Salerno and
tn" island of lsChia than an ordinary
earthquake or an eruption of NesiIvus.
49, that now tho inhabitants of the south
of Italy who formerly PRAYED TO their
patron saints IN deliver them from the
commissions OF their volcanoes and in
v"ked RAIN from heaven for their fields.
orchards and vineyards are apt To re-
gard /, ~ "A scourRe and "A calamity.
IN" great havoc wrought was by floods
and foundations that were caused by tor
rsntial rain and nv that alone II was
hard To- believe that mere rain and nothing
"ls" could ravags the country. destroy
towns and lllages and kin over 5nO per
sons Yet II IL a we'll known fact thai
the island OF lschia IL composed OF pumic-
stone and soft v,Ilcanic tufa and that the
mountains Of the SorrentIae Peninsula,
which rise abruptly thousands Of feet from
the sea, are Of volcanic origin and oon-
se1uently GOV ered with disintegrated lava
and lapilli.
Landslides are Of frequent Occurrences
and yet the hills are being gradually
barred Of their trees. which constituted
the only remedy against them. After
hcavy rains tho soil on tho mountains and
hills is washed down. the railway and
telegraph lines are broken. a. every
harmless brook Ia changed into danger.
GUS torrent and the increased volume Of
water spreads over large areas. dashes
against bridges that were never triilt 10
resist II. washes away unprotected rail-
way lines. damages tunnels and makes
roads impossible Fortunately the rainy
season In the south OF Italy is short and
consequently the damage done so far has
been slight. but the possibility Of heavy
and prolonged rains never dawned on
thu minds Of the sun loving Seapolitans
who never see danger unless it In quite
close and imminent, In fact the child
like heedlessness Of the Neapolitans is
tho main cause Of the present disaster,
which might have been avsrted had ordi
nary precautions been taken
just as in the case OF Messina and Reg
gio. which were RACED to the ground be-
cause the inhabitants Of that earthquake
region insisted on building houses three
or four stories high with hardly any foun-
dations and with thin brick walls. all the
towns and villages that were destroyed
in lschia and on the Amnlfi coast are built
on sloping ruvines worn by streams or
torrents Of water which descend from the
mountains TO the sea. No attempt was
ever made to prevent the waters from
flooding thu inhabited area in case OF
heavy rain. but in most cases the beds Of
streams and rivers were bridged over and
converted into streets. The slopes Of the
hills that tower behind every town and
village were haired Of their trees and laid
out in terraces planted with vines. olives.
lemons and fruit trees. high road was
hult from Amalh to Salerno. and nearly
the whole way hewn in the cliffs with gal
leries and vast viaducts from 100 90 500
feet above the sea.
The catastrophe 10 any one acquainted
even slightly with this country Ia easily
explained Under the action OF the water
which poured down in torrents from the
hills the loose soil was washed away and
slid along the slopes toward tho sea
Meanwhile every Insignificant brook wns
converted into a threatening torrent
which rushed down toward the inha biteci
area. where its progress was checked
owing 20 the streets built over its bed
As was 90 be .xpectsd the water either
flooded the towns and villa ges or else tore
up the pavenents and dashed against the
houses built on each side Of the street.
The soil washed down from the hills
formed torrents - mud which naturally
followed the course 81 the waters and in
vaded the inhabited area. Houses were
submerged and collapsed.
Tho waters spread and az no Quite.
~ the sea could be- found owing TO tho
mud and ths debris Of ruined walls and
houses which formed hugo entertainments
they rose higher and hi CHER and inundated
entire villages AZ the same time hugo
masses Of rocks wer. def ached from the
mountains and fell down the slopes. over
whelming everything that imp~ded their
progress. devastating fields and lemon
groves. destroying farmhouses. breaking
bridges and roads and finally crushing
the badly built houses in the towns and
villages on the seashore
On Monday afternoon. While tho rain
"' " falling heavily over Naples. the
hs val officer IN command Of the station
Cape Mlseno after much difficulty
Y decided in understanding tn. signals
" distress made by the s~maphore nj
Procida. and ne wired the message he