Holy Shite look at that mudslide in Sicily

[malaise]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8288629.stm

Deforestation will kill you.
<snip>
The number of people killed in mudslides caused by heavy rains in southern Italy will rise to 50, Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has warned.

Rescuers are still searching for some 40 people still missing after the country's worst mudslides for 10 years.

Twenty-one deaths and 80 injuries have been confirmed since torrential rains caused violent mudslides around the Sicilian city of Messina early Friday.

The mudslides swept away cars, toppled buildings and blocked transport links.

"In the end there'll be at least 50 dead," Mr Berlusconi told reporters in the early hours of Saturday.

He reportedly called off a visit to the region as he did not want to get in the way of rescue efforts.
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BBC INternational said the Mafia are being blamed for stripping the hills for housing developments.

[gateley]

1. Oh, swell. The Mafia. Can't they stick to their specialties? They

have to jump on the housing development bandwagon?

[malaise]

2. They are ubiquitous

It's all about money and power.

[Kali]

5. they need to get back into loan-sharking

I'm sure they would give me a better interest rate than BofA.

[gateley]

8. No doubt. And they'd tell you up front what the 'penalties' were instead of

changing them in the middle of the game.

[spanone]

3. nature is amazing

[malaise]

4. Yep mess with it and everyone suffers

You'd think human beings would learn.

[Phoebe Loosinhouse]

6. It's just another weird "micro burst" rain event that is becoming increasingly common

9" in 3 hours. Hello!

These things are happening all over the place and causing flash flooding. Despite the fact that I am a gloomy Eeyore sort of person hidden under a Mary Tyler Moore exterior, I have always PAID ATTENTION!!!

These rain "events" are happening more and they are happening all over the place. We are having rainfall totals the world around that are breaking all previous records. Have a life preserver within reach at all times in your house and in your car. I wish I was kidding.

[dipsydoodle]

7. Even without the deforestation

they were onto a dead cert loser with 10 inches of rain in just a few hours before dawn.

At least when that flood hit Devon in the UK a few years back ,when the peat moor above the coast saturated , it happened in daylight. That helped there being no loss of life. Was also helped by the RAF being at hand with 'copters in about 20 minutes flat. See Case study 1: Boscastle http://www.swenvo.org.uk/themes/flooding/flash-floods/

Case study 2 above , Lynmouth , was a nightime tragedy. Some of the boulders which tumbled down what is normally only a brook/stream remain in the village as a reminder of what 200,000 tonnes of rock can do.