Landslide area in Sicily reaches 4km; hundreds of people evacuated - PM arrived at the site

YouTube ^ | 1/28/2026 | Kanal 13

[Paul R.]

Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni on Wednesday toured a southern town in Sicily where days of heavy rains from a cyclone triggered a massive landslide that cleaved off the town's edge, collapsing houses and forcing the evacuation of over 1,500 people.

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TOPICS:
KEYWORDS: cyclone; evacuated; italy; landslide; meloni; sicily

[Paul R.]

According to Associated Press The area of the landslide spanned 4 kilometers and civil protection crews created a 150-meter-wide “no go zone.”

That really should be "The width of the landslide", or perhaps "length" if one is referring to the distance along the river, of the slide, but either way, the vid imagery is pretty impressive. Giorgia Meloni looks almost in shock. Not that I blame her.

[al_c]

Wow!!! That’s a massive chunk of land that shifted.

[Paul R.]

BTW, the source is evidently one of those AI voice based sources, so others may have better sources. Please post ‘em if you do. This footage of the town and the slide is, as I posted, pretty impressive, at any rate.

Somebody is likely in deep doo-doo for allowing homes to be built in a location that had already experienced such severe problems.

[bert]

Here is a very good photo depicting the magnitude of the landslide. The 4km dimension is indicated by the tan escarpment created by the slide.

[Paul R.]

Indeed! I’ll bet it’d be much worse if the soil saturation coincided with a serious earthquake... :-(

[woodbutcher1963]

What is the location in Sicily?
What is the name of the town/commune?

[Fiji Hill]

Sicily was hit by a “medicane,” or Mediterranean hurricane. These are circular storms just like hurricanes, but their strength is usually below category 1. However, they often bring a lot of rain.

[dfwgator]

Is it near Corleone?

[READINABLUESTATE]

Niscemi Sicily

https://youtu.be/eqnVMF6QiRc?si=O7E6iqY0IRwLQ_bC

Before and after

[flamberge]

What is the location in Sicily?

This was the town of Gela. It is on the southern coast of Sicily.

[Paul R.]

The slide must go a long way in the direction from which that picture was taken.

Also, the buildings now at the bottom must have been built right up to the prior edge. What the heck were they thinking? Surely there are competent soils engineers / companies and zoning regs in Italy.

[etabeta]

Location is Niscemi, part of Caltanissetta, about 56 miles from Catania.

[Paul R.]

From the article:

At the edge of Niscemi...

“The entire hill is collapsing onto the plain of Gela,”

[Paul R.]

https://freerepublic.com/focus/news/4364518/posts?page=13#13

[Allegra]

You OK?

[tlozo]

Niscemi was built on layers of sand and clay. These conditions have made it impossible to keep the structures stable amid heavy rain.

[Paul R.]

Kinda Biblical...

Matthew 7:26

[Cold Heart]

I think those buildings were constructed BCE (Before Construction Engineers)

[al_c]

Landslide marked on Google Maps

[Rocco DiPippo]

The town is Niscemi, in Caltanissetta Province. This problem has been going on therer for centuries. Happened in 1790 and around 1990 too. It's what happens when houses are built on sandy, unstable ground.

A few years ago I visited another Sicilian town, Polizzi Generosa, which had a similar problem with the same results. It was wild to see it first hand.

Geologically speaking, Sicily is a very active, dynamic place.