sicily mudslides
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Two buildings have collapsed in a mudslide triggered by torrential rains in Sicily, Italy, leaving at least 17 people killed and 35 others missing.

Up to 250 millimeters (10 inches) of rain fell in the space of a few hours on Thursday, leaving ten people seriously injured and some 415 others homeless, AFP quoted emergency services spokesman Giampiero Gliubizzi as saying.

Gliubizzi confirmed the collapse of the two buildings, adding that sniffer dogs were searching for victims in the rubble.

In Messina city in the northeast of the Italian island, officials were concerned with a heavier death toll in the more inaccessible parts of the southern island.

In a Friday statement, Sicily's regional presidency said the toll was sure to rise and that the damage was 'incalculable', urging authorities in Rome to take "preventive measures so that such disasters do not recur."

Mudslides have disrupted communications, swept away dozens of cars between Messina and several coastal towns south of the city and prompted the government to declare a state of emergency in the region.

Witnesses said in some towns such as Molino, south of Messina, houses were suddenly flooded with mud which rose up to seven meters (23 feet), reducing buildings to rubbles in no time.

Local officials blamed the 'predictable' disaster on inadequate storm drainage systems, criticizing authorities for aggravating hydro-geological imbalance in the region by allowing for illegal constructions.