The Silvi landslide didn't start now — and above all, it isn't over yet
Environment — di Simone Santi
The Silvi landslide didn't start now — and above all, it isn't over yet
The Silvi landslide didn't start now — and above all, it isn't over yet
The Silvi landslide didn't start now — and above all, it isn't over yet
It feels like a lifetime ago since 28 March, yet the landslide that struck the municipality of Silvi, in Abruzzo, has not actually stopped more than ten days later — quite the opposite. Even over the Easter and Easter Monday holidays, Abruzzo's Civil Protection authority had issued an alert for potential new landslides, although fortunately the holiday period passed without any (further) major incidents.
But while inspections by municipal technicians, geologists and Civil Protection teams follow one after another without pause, the latest surveys show a situation that is worsening: the slip, which originated from the hillside below provincial road SP 29b, is now advancing dangerously upward, moving in the direction of the historic village of Silvi Paese — with the risk of a second Niscemi.
The consequences are immediate and tangible: more homes evacuated, the primary school closed because it falls within the risk zone, and on 9 April an emergency extraordinary municipal council convened with a single item on the agenda — finding an action plan to restore road access and secure the territory.
What is happening in Silvi
Reconstructing what has been happening since 28 March — and even before — is Nicola Sciarra, an engineer and full professor of Applied Geology at the Università Gabriele D'Annunzio in Chieti and a founding member of the Italian Association of Applied Geology (Aiga), who was on site as early as 31 March alongside teams from the regional and national Civil Protection. "The predisposing geological conditions lie in the presence of a palaeoslide," Sciarra explains: in essence, the Silvi hillside had already given way in the past, probably due to the collapse of rock portions from the overlying Rupe di Silvi Alta. That ancient material (cemented but heavily fractured conglomerates) forms an unstable layer between 7 and 9 metres in depth.
⛑️Secondo quanto riporta TvSei è di 32 sfollati e 8 edifici coinvolti, 3 dei quali crollati, il bilancio della frana che sta coinvolgendo la contrada Santa Lucia a Silvi (TE).
Immagini dal drone di Anja Cantagalli, per AbruzzoCityrumors.it, del fronte di frana.
Immagini dal drone di Anja Cantagalli, per AbruzzoCityrumors.it, del fronte di frana.
The heavy rainfall of this winter did the rest: water seeped into the ground, saturated the surface silty sands and fed an overabundant underground flow. On 28 March the hillside suddenly accelerated: three buildings collapsed, the provincial road cracked open with vertical displacements of more than two and a half metres. The extent of the phenomenon is considerable — roughly one hundred metres at the upper crown, over two hundred metres downslope — and the front continues to widen.
Among the most pressing concerns is that of the children. With the forced closure of the school buildings in Silvi Paese (infant and primary schools), the municipal administration is evaluating the installation of prefabricated modular units in Silvi Marina, in the coastal area, to guarantee students safe and functional spaces while the hillside is being stabilised. An emergency solution that speaks volumes about the depth of the crisis underway.
Why cases like Silvi keep recurring
We have touched on the analogy with the recent case of Niscemi in Sicily: the Silvi landslide is not an isolated incident. It is the product of a combination of factors found throughout Italian territory: fragile geology, increasingly intense precipitation driven by the climate crisis, and a history of urban development that paid little heed to ground-level risks.
"The intensification of land use and exploitation of natural resources is increasingly exposing communities to the risks associated with landslides and flooding, aggravated by the effects of climate change," notes Monica Papini, geologist, full professor of Applied Geology at the Politecnico di Milano and national president of Aiga (Associazione italiana di geologia applicata e ambientale), the first woman to hold this role since 2024.
The problem is not climate alone. It is also a form of spatial planning that has rarely genuinely taken into account the geology of the soil, building on historically unstable slopes and underestimating signals that the land has been sending for decades.
A shortage of geologists: a dangerous paradox
There is a bitter irony in all of this. While geological risks are increasing, Italian universities are recording a worrying decline in enrolments on geology degree programmes. "The urgency of recognising the value of the geologist — a professional who is fundamental in supporting spatial planning decisions and ensuring sustainable and safe development — is emerging with great force," says Professor Papini.
#Teramo, è di 80 metri il fronte della frana a Silvi, sulla SP29b: i #vigilidelfuoco hanno evacuato altri 2 edifici, prima del crollo di uno di essi nel primo pomeriggio, nessuna persona coinvolta. In arrivo i #droni per il monitoraggio dall'alto dell'area [#28marzo 17:00]
Without geologists, there are no up-to-date risk maps. Without risk maps, construction continues where it should not. And when the rain comes — and it now comes ever more intensely and concentrated — slopes give way, roads crack open, schools close. Silvi, then, is a story of geology, climate and planning. But right now it is above all the story of a community waiting for answers: from politics, from technicians in the field, and from a country that has yet to learn to reckon with the fragility of the land on which it is built.