For days, the 25,000 residents of the Sicilian town of Niscemi have been living on the edge of a 25-meter abyss. On January 25th, following torrential rains caused by Cyclone Harry, a devastating landslide obliterated an entire hillside of the town, creating a chasm four kilometers long. Roads have collapsed, vehicles have been buried, and entire sections of the urban fabric have sunk away into the void. Hazardously perched houses are now teetering on the cliff’s edge as vehicles and pieces of the roadway continue to erode under the pressure of unstable soil, which the town sits upon atop a fragile clay foundation. The landslides are ongoing, with a three-story residential building having detached and fallen down the slope after hanging precariously for six days. Authorities have thus far evacuated more than 1,600 people from the area. Entire portions of the historic center are at risk, including 17th-century churches that might be lost in the disaster. The situation raises serious questions about the urban planning mistakes that led to such vulnerabilities in Niscemi, pointing to a need for better oversight and preventive measures to protect residents from future calamities.