Approximately 1,500 residents have been evacuated in Niscemi, Sicily, due to the destructive natural disaster
An Italian town is now hanging at the edge of a cliff after a recent storm caused a severe landslide in the area.
The hilltop town of Niscemi, located in southern Sicily, was hit with strong winds and rain amid Storm Harry last week, and the aftermath caused a 2.5-mile-long section of a cliff to collapse in the town on Sunday, Jan. 25, according to the BBC and The Times.
Footage obtained by PEOPLE show houses hanging from the edge of the sharp cliff that the natural disaster created. In one shot, a car can be seen teetering halfway off the edge as pieces of the saturated soil continue to crumble around it.
While no injuries have been reported, approximately 1,500 residents have reportedly been evacuated as the situation is expected to worsen in the town, which has a population of about 25,000 residents.
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(749x0:751x2):format(webp)/italy4-landside-012826-0fb2b2a08959443a8fb66e7be4c2e620.jpg)
According to The Guardian, the chasm has continued to widen since Sunday, sparking fears among locals that the town’s historic center could potentially being swallowed up and destroyed.
Following the tragedy, the mayor of Niscemi, Massimiliano Conti, urged locals to take the “dramatic landslide” seriously, the outlet reported.
“I don’t want anyone to take this event lightly,” he reportedly said in a social media video. “Fortunately there were no injuries, only damage to homes.”
Conti said the town is continuing to monitor the situation, and admitted, “There’s no denying it – we’re scared,” The Guardian reported, citing an interview he did with local outlet La Repubblica.
“The situation is dire, especially since the creaking continues, and the rain isn’t helping either the relief operations or the technical surveys.” he added. “We’re monitoring the situation non-stop, because the situation could change at any moment.”
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(1003x0:1005x2):format(webp)/italy3-landside-012826-6f56ab1989894284aef60a8da8c695ac.jpg)
Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
According to the outlet, the director general of Sicily’s civil protection authority, Salvatore Cocina, predicted that “all homes within a 50-70 metre radius will collapse.” As of Tuesday, Jan. 27, schools remained closed in the town.
Speaking to The Times, a local named Sergio Francesco Cirrone said his home is one of the structures now hanging off the edge of the cliff after being split in half.
He said once he and his family saw the signs of desctruction, they immediately evacuated: “We saw cracks appearing in the walls of our house and fled, taking nothing with us.”
