Sicily mudslides highlight how negligence and nature conspire to make Italy a disaster zone

Accidents and natural disasters happen everywhere. Italy has had its share of them this year, with last week's Sicilian mudslides capping a deadly six months that have included an earthquake and a horrific train wreck.

What has many Italians particularly worried, however, is the unusually high death tolls and destruction the disasters have wreaked in a nation that takes pride in being one of the world's most advanced democracies.

While the tragedies are unrelated, experts see a common thread: corruption, chronic negligence, and uncontrolled development conspiring with a disaster-prone terrain to inflict maximum damage.

As the death toll from last week's massive landslides rises to 26 with rescuers still digging for bodies, the nation is once again waking up to the reality of how unprepared it is to cope with nature's fury.

"When all the ills come together a small emergency becomes a tragedy," said Maria D'Amico, 52, a travel agent from the stricken area near Messina.

In April, the towns of central Italy crumbled, killing some 300 people, in a 6.3-magnitude earthquake that would have caused only limited damage in most Western nations. Experts blamed the high death toll on shoddy construction, and prosecutors have begun an investigation.

Two months later, more than 30 died in a Tuscan seaside resort when a broken wheel caused a gas train to derail in an overcrowded area, setting an entire neighbourhood on fire.

Last week's rainstorm released rivers of mud and debris that rushed down mountainsides and submerged parts of the Sicilian city of Messina, a tragedy that might have been averted if homes were not built on hillsides and the trees cut down.

"Although Italy is beautiful, the land is considered something that must be exploited as much as possible," said Enzo Boschi, president of the National Institute of Geophysics and Vulcanology.

The long and narrow Italian peninsula has mountains running through its backbone, leaving little room for cities and infrastructure.

That is one of the reasons why there are few rail lines in Italy, and why dangerous cargo like the Viareggio gas train too often travels through densely populated areas, Boschi told The Associated Press in a telephone interview.

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