Niscemi landslide: National Service efforts continue

The National Civil Protection Service continues its activities in response to the major landslide in Niscemi, which occurred on January 25 after an old landslide front near the southern part of the town was reactivated.

The Civil Protection System is providing assistance to the population, ensuring technical and scientific monitoring of the situation, and working to restore essential services and road connections. To coordinate these activities, the Municipal Operations Centre (COC) and the Rescue Coordination Centre (CCS) at the Prefecture of Caltanissetta are active, with Civil Protection Department personnel on site to support local authorities and the community.

Essential services and road connections. Following the completion of safety measures on the network, gas supplies were fully restored across the area yesterday. As for road conditions, the Italian Army’s engineering corps is already working on the secondary road network, while further projects on local roads affected by the landslide are currently under assessment.

Technical and scientific monitoring. The Civil Protection Department has activated the Italian Space Agency to provide satellite data acquired by the COSMO-SkyMed constellation and, within the framework of Italian-Argentinian cooperation, by Argentina’s SAOCOM satellites, enhancing monitoring activities through the integration of space-based technologies.  The Agency has already made available 400 radar images from the COSMO-SkyMed archive, acquired since 2010 under the MapItaly plan dedicated to monitoring the national territory. The data have been forwarded to the Department of Earth Sciences at the University of Florence, a Civil Protection Department centre of competence, for further examination. The University of Florence is involved in the technical and scientific assessment of the residual landslide risk in the Niscemi area.

Aid to the population. Approximately 1000 people were forced to leave their homes due to the landslide. The municipality has taken action to accommodate displaced residents, in particular at the ‘Pio La Torre’ sports hall. Firefighters and Civil Protection volunteers continue to work to assist residents in recovering personal belongings from evacuated homes. Civil Protection volunteers are also providing support through a mobile kitchen set up by AVCS, a volunteer organization based in Syracuse.

Last update 7 pm January 30, 2025