Sicily Declares Emergency After Landslide Devastates Niscemi
Heavy rains cause cliff collapse in Niscemi, displacing over 1,500 residents and destroying homes and roads; PM Meloni visits site as reconstruction.
Key Points
- Heavy rains triggered landslide in Niscemi, Sicily, collapsing cliffside homes and roads over 4km.
- Over 1,500 of 26,000 residents evacuated; hundreds of families displaced.
- Area prone to slides due to unstable sand and clay layers saturated by rain.
- PM Giorgia Meloni visited site; reconstruction and relocation efforts underway.
Sicily has declared a state of emergency after heavy rains triggered widespread damage, including the collapse of homes and roads in the town of Niscemi and the displacement of hundreds of families.
The southern Sicilian municipality of Niscemi, home to just over 26,000 residents, suffered the most dramatic impact. A large section of land loaded with houses atop a cliff gave way, sliding for four kilometres and demolishing multiple structures. More than 1,500 people were evacuated after losing their homes, prompting scenes of panic amid the destruction.
Niscemi's vulnerability stems from its location on layers of sand and clay, materials that become highly unstable and permeable when saturated by rain. This is not the first such landslide in the area.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni responded swiftly, travelling to the devastated town to assess the situation firsthand during this crisis. Reconstruction efforts are now underway for residences and infrastructure, as authorities work to relocate affected families.
Original Sources
This article was aggregated from the following Catalan-language sources: