Heavy rainfalls over the Eolian archipelago yesterday triggered a series of devastating mud flows (known as lahars) that descended the flanks of the volcano and invaded the village of Stromboli where they caused great damage.
Fortunately, there are no reports of fatalities and there seem not to have been serious injuries, but a large number of houses and other structures in the village, a popular tourist destination during the summer months, were affected. Many suffered great damage.
The main roads was covered with mud, sand, rocks, torn vegetation and debris with up to 1 meter. Many buildings have become uninhabitable and long queues were reported from people, mainly tourists, currently on the island in order to leave.
Sadly, it can be said that one of the principal causes of this disaster was man-made: back on 25 May, during the shooting of a TV serial, the film crew set consciously fire to the dry vegetation in the slope above the village, with the intention to have it then being extinguished by firemen on camera. Unfortunately, that plan went badly wrong – there was strong winds and the fire got out of control, to burn a very large part of the typical Mediterranean macchia vegetation that covers (or covered) the mountain’s slopes from the village to approx 500 m elevation, and so far, protected the village from such events.
Lacking the protective cover of vegetation, the soil on the burnt slopes, rich in sand and loose blocks, lost much of its ability to absorb the rain water that poured down during yesterday’s rain storm. Given enough quantities, the water instead mixed with the surface soil and triggered massive mud flows. Climate change is certainly another contributing factor: dry periods tend to become more intense, putting more strain on vegetation and facilitating erosion, but also rain falls tend to be heavier when they do occur.
