BAKU, Jan. 25 (Xinhua) -- A total of 390 people have been evacuated in an emergency from the landslide zone in the upland Bayil settlement in the Azerbaijani capital of Baku, local reports said Thursday.
With cracks widening to a dangerous level, authorities have declared some parts as "unsafe" in Bayil settlement and have evacuated 67 families to safer places, according to reports by local Azeri-Press Agency.
Most of the residents moved to their relatives' homes. Others have been resettled to schools and have been provided with food and water.
The intensification of the landslide process threatens houses, some 90 of which are in poor condition, officials said.
Eldar Azizov, head of the Sabail district executive authority, met on Thursday with the temporarily relocated families. He said the families' expense for rent will be covered.
According to the country's Ministry of Ecology, the landslide process in Bayil settlement was activated by atmospheric precipitation and construction works on the lower part of the slope.
The landslide zone is located 200-250 meters to the southeast of the Baku TV tower.
According to Azerbaijan's Academy of Sciences, 14 landslides have been recorded in the Bayil zone since the middle of the 19th century.
The most powerful landslide in the area occurred in March 2000, when an area with a width of 350 meters and a length of 450 meters broke away from the hillside and rolled down, destroying buildings and communications.
