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Houses and vehicles balance precariously on the verge of a cliff following a landslide in Sicily.
S
You might include a link to the article…. [https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/jan/27/niscemi-sicily-landslide-chasm-storm-cyclone-harry](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/jan/27/niscemi-sicily-landslide-chasm-storm-cyclone-harry)
S
I’m really missing a *before*-image.
N
[Here’s an image from Google Maps](https://i.imgur.com/ZkX6j2b.jpeg), red line by me where it looks like the cliff-side is now.
I
They should have planted a lot more vegetation.
D
I mean it looks quite arid. A spot like that would get more wind than the surrounds. Wind, sun, no rain, shit soil – what you gonna plant? Tell me.
R
Not houses at the edge.. oh wait.
D
They weren’t on the edge til this morning
R
Oh they were pretty damn close. Anything within a couple of hundred meters of a non supported slope is basically an edge and these were even closer than that, looking at the photo it looks like within 10 meters of the slope. **0–20 m**: immediate edge effects, undercutting, rockfall, small slumps. **20–100 m**: very plausible influence zone for soil slopes, road cuts, coastal cliffs, especially with water. **100–300 m**: credible *only* with specific geology + hydrology (large rotational slides, weak strata, sustained saturation).
M
Desert plants.
M
Hemp?
S
Olives?
A
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ammophila_arenaria
R
Sloped edge.. it’s fiiiiiinnne NOPE.
T
Map.google.com. It looks like it’s the area on the [southwest side of the city](https://www.google.com/maps/place/93015+Niscemi,+Free+municipal+consortium+of+Caltanissetta,+Italy/@37.1426021,14.3895289,1329m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m6!3m5!1s0x131106dae7da796d:0x973d1123371a18fa!8m2!3d37.1486561!4d14.3874688!16zL20vMGY2bHE5?entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI2MDEyMS4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D).
S
Wow, thank you! The map suggests this is the edge of the old city, thus something that has probably survived human intervention for centuries.
T
I checked [Dave Petley’s blog](https://eos.org/landslide-blog)(he’s the landslide guy) for information on the slide, but he doesn’t have anything up, yet. He’ll likely update it soon with information on this event. That said, if you look at the hill that bulges out of the city to the southeast, it looks like there might be some old slumps visible along the slope, but I’m not a geomorphologist, so go with whatever Petley suggests.
T
Wow scary!
–
Yes correct. [Apple Maps link](https://maps.apple/p/eXk2m2~1I~B4Q8) and an [image](https://i.imgur.com/18OzDxt.jpeg)
7
It’s from the Daily Mail, but this article has a before/after slider image: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-15498797/Hundreds-evacuated-2-5-mile-long-landslide-hits-Sicilian-town-leaving-houses-cars-perched-cliff-edge-brutal-storm.html
L
Holy moly. You can absolutely see why people in antiquity would have attributed these kinds of events to divine warnings etc.
S
Fucking heathens on the southwest side of the city, I tell you
A
Have you ever seen the snow / light / star.phenomenon ? Without a full modern grasp on atmosphere and weather, it looks divine Then think of major storms, floods, Northern lights etc Look up ‘sun dogs’
T
You’re asking a karma farmer to provide context? Preposterous
S
Well yes, I realise that, sorry 🙂
N
how the hell is this news not on /r/worldnews
C
Thanks a lot, you’re the real MVP.
E
Also this is more r/damnthatsinteresting than it is r/wtf Edit:oops, forgot how dumb y’all are
M
“Spectacular cliffside views!”
E
…curious what happens if you buy a plot like that and then it collapses. Do you still own it just lower?
H
At some places near the ocean, if your land ends up on the beach, the land becomes public property and you simply lose it.
H
I heard If it gets submerged in the ocean you can sell it to Aquaman
B
Generally yes, but it depends on how the property lines were defined on the original deed. These days, much less of a problem, but in olden times, it would often be something like “from this river, north to this creek, east to this road, and south to this marker.” Then a major flood changes the course of the creek and river and suddenly locals and even in some cases the states are fighting.
V
Yes and your responsible for clean up and property taxes still.
P
Buy it cheap, and you’ll have a nice workable gully property after a few more collapses. Long game.
P
Now I’m not professor, but it would seem to me that cliffside is not entirely stable.
L
Damn that’s scary. What can they even do to help fix that?
O
Flex seal
T
We are not using ramen and epoxy anymore?
A
In California, up until around the 1970s they used to allow private owners of land on the side of sea cliffs to install their own reinforcement and there are many approaches but a common one for those with deep pockets is to drill down into the bedrock with giant augers and then build up steel reinforced concrete columns in a row. This is extremely expensive though and the people who own custom coastal homes are often willing to spend hundreds of times the value of the property because they’ve got that much money. The people in this photo certainly don’t have that kind of cash. Some of the trashed places look like sheet metal shacks and others are unfinished concrete. In any event, the state of California is actively opposed to the building of seawalls at this time and has multiple lawsuits against cities like Pismo Beach that have allowed private landowners to build them in the past. Instead, they have a policy called “managed retreat” which is a polite way of saying –“Sorry, get the fuck out. You were never supposed to build there.” This the current preferred method. If you don’t go of your own accord, they will give you a little help with the aid of the local sheriff.
N
That’s shitty
T
Maybe stupid fucking rich people shouldn’t build on the side of the cliff. In cases of California they likely cause the erosion by destroying trees
M
in NJ they actively oppose rejuvenating the sand dunes that protect entire towns because it would spoil their view. they also oppose windmills for the same reason.
K
It took me a bit to realize you meant on the beach. I was like “Since when is there a desert in New Jersey???” for a solid 5 seconds before it dawned on me.
M
yeah sorry i didn’t even think to clarify lol
P
In Florida a developer was in the news last year for cutting down some protected mangrove trees (storm surge protection) as part of a new condo or hotel or something. The punishment is a fine. It was factored into the cost of the development.
T
Yeah, rich people suck
G
I imagine they’ll drive a line of piles somewhere to protect as much as they can. Essentially an underground retaining wall. And then put a big ass fence up to keep people away from the edge. They *might* be able to clear the land beyond the piles and use it as greenspace, but that sounds expensive and possibly dangerous to this lay person, though removing the structures would probably mitigate future damage.
S
Honestly, don’t build by a cliff face. Also global warning is going to make this more common
T
Should have planted the hillside with deep rooted trees.
T
That takes forethought and planning.
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