When the land drops away: Life and uncertainty in Niscemi’s red zone

Nevin Al Sukari - Sana'a - Collapsed houses are seen following a landslide in Niscemi on January 28, 2026. Authorities said more than 1,000 people were evacuated in Sicily after a four-kilometre (2.5-mile) section of cliff gave way during a storm, leaving homes perched dangerously on the edge. — AFP pic

NISCEMI, Jan 29 — Gaetano Ferrera had just a few minutes to grab belongings from his home, one of hundreds evacuated after a landslide in Sicily that experts warn could worsen due to heavy rainfall.

“Being left without anything is bad, it’s bad. I’ve been here ever since I was a child,” said Ferrera, visibly emotional as he locked the door behind him.

Ferrera and his family, including two 16-year-old daughters and elderly parents, have no idea whether they will ever be able to return.

The house sits in an area of Niscemi declared a “red zone”—and therefore off limits—after a four-kilometre (2.5-mile) long stretch of the hillside collapsed on Sunday, forcing the evacuation of some 1,500 people.

The town, built on unstable terrain, was battered by a powerful storm that hit southern Italy last week.

Though there were no deaths or injuries, experts say the gulf could extend—and topple more houses—when it rains again.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni visited on Wednesday, flying by helicopter over the gashed hillside and deep fissures in fields below.

She promised quick help, pointing to long delays in compensation from a previous large landslide in the same town in 1997.

Speaking to local officials after visiting the site, she said it remained to be seen how many people would be “permanently displaced because the landslide is still moving”.

 Landslide still active 

“We need to wait for the rains to stop and for the soil moisture to decrease”, Luigi D’Angelo, the Civil Protection Agency’s head of emergency management, told AFP.

He said “heavy rain” was forecast in the coming days.

Rubble from a few homes destroyed by the landslide could be seen at the bottom of the cliff, “and there’s a risk that another 20 metres or so could fall, impacting other homes”, he said.

The agency is using drones to monitor the red zone and satellite images to assess the speed of the landslide.

As locals watched a darkening sky, police patrolled streets empty of all but stray cats, while emergency services stood on standby on the edge of the red zone.

Niscemi, home to some 25,000 people and built on sandstone and clay, suffered a landslide in the same area nearly 30 years ago, and residents said this week’s disaster had been long in the making.

Geologist Giuseppe Amato, head of water resources in Sicily for Legambiente, told AFP the landslide should serve as a warning as climate change leads to increasing weather extremes.

“Niscemi is another alarm bell... we must respond by changing our habits” and “choosing not to build in certain ways and in certain places”.

“In 2025 alone, Sicily has been hit by 48 exceptional weather events”, from wind and rain to extreme heat, showing the Mediterranean island is “a hot spot for climate change in all respects”, he said.

According to Italy’s Institute for Environmental Protection and Research (ISPRA), over one million Italians live in areas classed as “high or very high risk” for landslides.

Land simply dropped away

Rosario Cona, 45, a farmhand, told AFP that on Sunday “the land simply dropped away”.

“We watch houses falling, this is normality for us,” he said.

Unlike 29 years ago, though, “we have to take responsibility”, he said. “The time for sleepwalking is over.”

As a mobile kitchen readied hot meals for evacuees, Cona said Niscemi’s future was uncertain—but he for one would never leave.

His family may not return to their home, just one row back from the cliff edge, but Cona said he would build a new one if necessary.

“I was born here, and I will die here”, he said. — AFP