Meloni took a helicopter tour of the landslide area and met with local, regional and civil protection officials at the town hall. She vowed that the initial emergency funding was just the first step in addressing the immediate financial needs of displaced residents and that more was coming.
In a statement, her office said the government was committed to helping residents find alternative housing and to restoring road access, utilities and school activities in town.
“The situation is complicated by the fact that, as long as the landslide remains active, it is impossible to identify the exact area to be treated and therefore to establish the methods of intervention,” it said.
Niscemi was built on a hill 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: the landslide front extends for about 4 kilometers and directly affects the houses facing the slope,” warned Giovanna Pappalardo, professor of applied geology at the island’s University of Catania.