Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni visited Niscemi on Wednesday after days of heavy rains from a cyclone triggered a landslide that left homes perched near a newly formed cliff edge, prompting officials to evacuate more than 1,500 people, according to Associated Press.
Authorities said the landslide spanned about 4 kilometers in Niscemi, a town in the southwest of Sicily. Images broadcast from the area showed cars and structures that had fallen roughly 20 meters off the cliff, while other houses remained at the edge, officials said.
Civil protection crews marked off a 150-meter-wide “no go zone” around the area affected by the slide. The town is located just inland from the coastal city of Gela.
Fabio Ciciliano, the civil protection chief, said the hill was collapsing toward the plain of Gela. He added that houses located on the edge of the landslide could no longer be inhabited and said authorities needed to work with the mayor on a permanent relocation for affected families.
In warnings to residents, authorities said people with homes in the area would need long-term alternatives rather than planning to return soon. Officials said the ground, soaked from the storms, was still shifting and too unstable for living conditions.
Meloni toured the landslide area by helicopter and met with local, regional and civil protection officials at the town hall. Her office said the emergency funding approved by the federal government for the regions affected by “Cyclone Harry” would be used as an initial step, while additional support would follow.
The Italian federal government declared Niscemi eligible for a state of emergency on Monday for three southern regions hit by the cyclone. Officials said the government set aside an initial 100 million euros to be divided among the regions, while Sicilian regional authorities estimated that overall damage to Sicily stood at 2 billion euros.
In a statement, Meloni’s office said government assistance would focus on helping residents find alternative housing and restoring road access, utilities and school activities. The statement also said intervention methods could not yet be precisely defined because the landslide remained active and prevented authorities from identifying the exact area to be treated.
Officials and geologists pointed to the area’s geology as a factor behind the disaster. Niscemi was built on layers of sand and clay that become more permeable during heavy rainfall and have shifted before, including during a major 1997 landslide that forced the evacuation of 400 people, geologists said.
Giovanna Pappalardo, a professor of applied geology at the University of Catania, said the situation was repeating itself with more significant characteristics and that the landslide front extended for about 4 kilometers, directly affecting houses facing the slope.
The latest slide, which began Sunday as Cyclone Harry battered southern Italy, also reignited political debate over whether construction had been allowed on geologically risky land. Renato Schifani, the center-right president of Sicily, acknowledged that questions about the issue were legitimate, but said the focus should remain on the government response needed to help residents immediately affected.
Elly Schlein, leader of the opposition Democratic Party, called for redirecting 1 billion euros that had been approved for a bridge project from Sicily to the Italian mainland to storm-hit regions, saying the bridge project is currently tied up in court challenges.