Italy’s Meloni visits storm-hit town left hanging over cliff

Sicilian town faces emergency after massive landslide.

Italy’s prime minister Giorgia Meloni on Wednesday visited the Sicilian town of Niscemi which has been left hanging over a cliff after the devastating impact of Cyclone Harry.

Meloni arrived in Catania by plane before taking a helicopter flight to visit areas affected by the colossal storm damage, accompanied by the head of the national civil protection department, Fabio Ciciliano.

The arrival of Meloni in Niscemi comes after around 1,500 of the town’s residents were evacuated following a massive landslide triggered by the torrential rainfall brought by Cyclone Harry.

The landslide front extends for about four kilometres as the cliffside upon which the town is perched continues to crumble, leaving multiple homes hanging perilously over the 25-metre precipice.

The town, which has a population of around 25,000, has been declared a ‘red zone’ by authorities.

Meloni held an hour-long meeting in Niscemi with Ciciliano, the town’s mayor Massimiliano Conti, and the prefect of Caltanisetta, Donatella Licia Messina.

Niscemi “risks collapsing in the face of a huge void”, according to Sicily regional president Renato Schifani who told reporters that authorities were drawing up emergency plans for the town.

Schifani also estimated that the broader damage caused by Cyclone Harry, which also devastated the island of Sardinia and the southern Calabria region, amounts to €2 billion in Sicily alone.

Italy’s civil protection minister Nello Musumeci has pledged the full support of the Meloni government which has declared a state of emergency in the three storm-hit regions, allocating initial funds of €100 million to tackle the damage.

Elly Schlein, leader of the opposition centre-left Partito Democratico, visited Niscemi on Tuesday and called for €1 billion to be diverted from the Strait of Messina bridge project and used instead to support areas affected by the storm.

Photo: Open