UAE expresses solidarity with Italy following storms in Sicily

The United Arab Emirates has expressed its solidarity with the Italian Republic following powerful storms that affected Sicily and southern regions, resulting in substantial damage.

In a statement, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) expressed the UAE’s solidarity with the government and people of Italy during this emergency and extended its sincere wishes for the safety of all those affected.

This aerial view shows a part of the giant landslide in the city of Niscemi, Sicily. AFP

Earlier, Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni 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.

The area of the landslide spanned 4 kilometres and civil protection crews created a 150-meter-wide (150-yard-wide) "no go zone."

At the edge of Niscemi, some cars and structures had already tumbled 20 metres off the cliff while other homes remained perched perilously on the edge of the continuously shifting ground.

Authorities warned that residents with homes in the area, facing the city of Gela on Sicily's southwestern coast, will have to find long-term alternatives to moving back since the water-soaked ground was too unstable.

"The entire hill is collapsing onto the plain of Gela," civil protection chief Fabio Ciciliano said. "To be honest, there are houses located on the edge of the landslide that obviously can no longer be inhabited, so we need to work with the mayor to find a permanent relocation for these families."

WAM / AP