Daily London
A cyclone and accompanying rainfall caused a landslide in the Sicilian town of Niscemi on Sunday, creating a drop of up to 45 metres.
No one has been reported injured or killed, but several homes are close to collapsing.
“Houses that remained suspended were inevitably doomed to collapse, as were those closest to the landslide’s summit line,” Sicilian Regional Department of Civil Protection head Salvo Cocina said.
“It is likely that most of these homes will never be recoverable, and new housing will have to be found.”
Cocina confirmed the landslide had worsened since Sunday, leaving authorities to widen the red zone to 150 metres and order a total of about 1500 people to evacuate.
Affected residents are receiving support from local authorities and are seeking refuge in the homes of family and friends.
Mayor Massimiliano Conti has described the situation as “dire” as aerial images captured the catastrophic scenes.
The Italian government has allocated €100 million ($171.7 million) to support emergency efforts as it declared a national state of emergency for Sicily, Sardinia and Calabria.
Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said her thoughts were with the affected communities.
“In this work that lies ahead, we must take climate change into account: it is a moral duty to rebuild while trying to prevent similar events from having such devastating consequences as they did this time,” he said in a statement.
“Thanks to the timely interventions, we were able to protect people; now we are working to ensure that the land is protected in the future as well.”
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