Thirteen people are missing and around 100 people are trapped after a landslide on the Italian holiday island of Ischia.
Italian Vice Premier Matteo Salvini previously said eight people had died but was later corrected by the country's Interior Minister Matteo Salvini and no one has died so far.
Rescuers are hunting for the missing after the disaster and Salvini said they were working in 'difficult conditions'.
Read More : Special moment Emmie surprised by Katie McCabe and told she's going to World Cup
The Italian fire brigade said that recent heavy rain caused the landslide on the island but reinforcements from nearby Naples have struggled to reach the island due to ongoing poor weather.
Videos from the island show the massive scale of destruction where cars have been swept up and smashed into one another as walls from houses were smashed away too.
Shared on social media, one video shows a car being swept away as tonnes of mud rush by and the locals can only stand by and watch in horror.
A second, taken in the immediate aftermath, shows the scale of the destruction to have been inflicted on the island.
Heavy rains have been battering the Campania region, the area surrounding Naples and Ischia, and a weather warning for rainfall and strong winds remains in place until Sunday.
Early reports suggest that of the 13 missing people it includes a family with a newborn baby and a 25-year-old who lived in two houses on the island.
Local media report that Giacomo Pascale, the mayor of the neighbouring commune Lacco Ameno said there is thought to be around 30 families, around 100 people, trapped in their homes without water or electricity following the landslide.
The roads that usually lead to their home and out are impassable after the natural disaster, making the rescue effort all the more difficult.
People have also been trapped inside the Hotel Terme Manzi by mud and left without electricity.
The island, off the coast of Naples, was hit by a short but intense rainstorm. The fire service tweeted: "Searches are underway for possible missing persons," and they added that two people had been rescued.
Horror pictures from the island showed uprooted trees and utility poles as well and local authorities are urging residents to stay home.
The Minister for Civil Protection and Sea Policies Nello Musumeci underlined difficulties in the rescue operation but said that efforts to save people were well underway.
Divers and sailors are also being used in the rescue effort as some cars and a minibus were swept into the sea.
Footage captured the moment one man was rescued from the flooded remains of what appeared to be a house.
Caked in mud and seemingly to weak to move, firefighters waded into the deep flood waters to save him, slowly carrying him back across to safety.
This is not the first time that the island has been struck by a landslide and suffered similarly back in 2009.
During that disaster a young girl called Anna De Felice was killed, and a local square was named after her but has been affected badly but the most recent landslide.
READ NEXT :
Ryan Tubridy makes convincing Scarecrow during Wizard of Oz themed Toy Show
Trial of three men charged with murder of Irish teen expected to go ahead
Family of murdered Nicola Furlong 'devastated' as killer returns to life in US
Widow of prolific criminal killed in crash wants mum’s stolen purse returned
Qatari comedian who grew up in Ireland emerges as World Cup star
Get breaking news to your inbox by signing up to our newsletter
