Perched on a hill overlooking Carthage, Tunisia's famed blue-and-white village of Sidi Bou Said now faces the threat of landslides, after record rainfall tore through parts of its slopes.

Last week, Tunisia saw its heaviest downpour in more than 70 years. The storm killed at least five people, with others still missing.

Narrow streets of this village north of Tunis -- famed for its pink bougainvillea and studded wooden doors -- were cut off by fallen trees, rocks and thick clay. Even more worryingly for residents, parts of the hillside have broken loose.

"The situation is delicate" and "requires urgent intervention", Mounir Riabi, the regional director of civil defence in Tunis, recently told AFP.

"Some homes are threatened by imminent danger," he said.

Authorities have banned heavy vehicles from........

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