A Landslide Takes a Town's Edge With It

Days of heavy rains from a cyclone triggered a massive landslide in the southern Sicilian village of Niscemi, cleaving off the town's edge, collapsing houses, and forcing the evacuation of 1,500 of the 25,000 residents, reports the Guardian. The area of the landslide spanned 2.5 miles. At the edge of Niscemi, some cars and structures had already tumbled 65 feet off the cliff while other homes remained perched perilously on the edge of the continuously shifting ground, reports the AP. "There's no denying it—we're scared," said Mayor Massimiliano Conti. "The situation is dire, especially since the creaking continues."

Authorities warned that residents with homes in the area, facing the city of Gela on Sicily's southwestern coast, will have to find long-term alternatives to moving back since the water-soaked ground was too unstable. "The entire hill is collapsing onto the plain of Gela," civil protection chief Fabio Ciciliano said. "To be honest, there are houses located on the edge of the landslide that obviously can no longer be inhabited, so we need to work with the mayor to find a permanent relocation for these families."

The federal government included Niscemi in a state of emergency declaration on Monday for several southern regions and set aside an initial $120 million, though Sicilian regional officials estimated on Wednesday the overall damage at $2.4 billion. Located just inland from Gela, Niscemi is no stranger to landslides. The town was built on layers of sand and clay that become particularly permeable in heavy rain and have shifted before, most recently in a major 1997 landslide that forced the evacuation of 400 people, geologists say.

"Today, the situation is repeating itself with even more significant characteristics," warned Giovanna Pappalardo, professor of applied geology at the island's University of Catania. The latest landslide, which began on Sunday with Cyclone Harry battering southern Italy, has revived political mud-slinging about why construction was allowed on land which, because of its geological makeup, has a high risk of landslides. The center-right regional president of Sicily, Renato Schifani, acknowledged such questions were legitimate. But he noted he had only been in office for a few years and said the main issue was an institutional response to help residents immediately affected.