A wave of mud, debris and stones broke away from the island’s highest mountain on Saturday and crashed down over houses and roads in and around town of Casamicciola Terme. Photographs and aerial video showed buildings smashed by the landslide and several cars pushed into the sea by what one resident described as “a waterfall of water and mud”. Densely populated, Ischia is a volcanic island which lies some 30 km (19 miles) from Naples. It draws visitors to its thermal baths and picturesque coastline. Episodes of heavy rainfall are becoming more common and more intense in the light of climate change, experts say, exacerbating hydrogeological risks in many parts of Italy. Statistics show Ischia has a large number of houses that were built illegally, putting inhabitants at permanent risk from flooding and earthquakes – which have often hit the hilly island over the past years.