Homes in the Sicilian town of Niscemi have been left precariously perched on the edge of a cliff after a landslide triggered by a violent storm, prompting mass evacuations and fears of further collapse, Italian civil protection officials said on Tuesday. Niscemi, a town of about 25,000 people in south-central Sicily, sits on a plateau that authorities say is gradually giving way toward the plain below. Following the landslide, more than 1,500 residents were forced to leave their homes as sections of the slope collapsed, leaving buildings overhanging the void and vehicles partially suspended above the chasm. “Let’s be clear: there are homes on the edge of the landslide that are uninhabitable,” civil protection chief Fabio Ciciliano told reporters during a visit to the town. In Niscemi, the sudden evacuations have sparked anxiety and anger among residents, some of whom say authorities ignored earlier warning signs.