Abstract
Following intense rainfall on 4/5 May 1998, over 100 mass movements occurred in the Sarno-Quindici area, some 30 km east of Naples, southern Italy. The movements took place in an area where recent pyroclastic materials mantle a Mesozoic limestone bedrock massif which had already suffered karstification over a long period. The debris from these movements extended 3–4 km into the surrounding lowlands and reached the towns of Sarno, Quindici, Bracigliano and Siano, causing severe destruction. One hundred and sixty-one people lost their lives. This preliminary paper discusses a number of scenarios to highlight the possible causes and mechanisms of the movements. Of particular importance are preceding rainfall patterns, the possible perched water conditions, the physical properties of the recent metastable volcanoclastics and underlying palaeosols and the influence of man-made changes in the morphology. Further studies are being undertaken to elucidate the relative importance of the different contributory factors.
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