
Dilapidated, muddy and squalid though it was, it was all they had to call home - a shantytown in the heart of Silicon Valley.

Today signaled the end for more than 300 former residents of the homeless emcampment known as the 'The Jungle' in San Jose, California - likely the largest in the country - who have been forced out of their makeshift abodes and underground homes.

The run-down tents and piles of trash are in stark contrast to the opulence of its Silicon Valley surroundings, home to tech giants Google, Apple and Facebook, and its dismantling has stirred up controversy.

And with many having nowhere else to go, charities say the evacuated residents will simply set up their camp elsewhere.

San Jose's homelessness response manager Ray Bramson said increased violence, wet weather and unsanitary conditions make it imperative the camp be cleared.

In the last month, one resident tried to strangle another with a cord of wire and another was nearly beaten to death with a hammer, he said.

Homeless: More than 300 residents of the Silicon Valley shantytown known as 'The Jungle' have been given notices to leave the area by December 4. Grace Hilliard, pictured, stands outside her tent yesterday

Homeless: An unidentified woman walks along a muddy path at the Silicon Valley homeless encampment in San Jose, California

Earlier this week, police officers and city officials invaded the one square-mile camp - taping notices on tents and tree trunks informing the people who live there to clear out by today or face arrest for trespassing.

A walk-through later found only 60 people left and the rest have been forced out today, with no reports of violence or residents refusing to leave.

Jennifer Loving, executive director of Destination Home, who has been working to house homeless people in the area, warned residents they had to get out when she toured the camp last week - even though there was 'nowhere for them to go'.

'We don't have the housing. We can't magically create it.'

'There's nowhere for them to go,' she added.

But Scott Wagers, a pastor who runs a support organization for the homeless, said the forced evacuation of what he described as 'a crime syndicate ruled by gangs, where the police do not enter', will lead the evicted to restore their camp elsewhere.

He explained 'The Jungle' was developed two years after the evacuation of another slum in San Jose.

He believes San Jose should give land for 'camping legally' and larger neighbors technology groups, including Apple, should donate in order 'to solve the problem for good. '

The city has one of the highest numbers of homeless people in the country and more than 5,000 sleep on the streets, in parks and under freeways in the area.

Makeshift: City officials plan to send in trash trucks and bulldozers to flatten homes and prevent homeless from re-entering the camp

Empty: A shirt with a morale-boosting message is placed atop mud and debris at the Silicon Valley homeless encampment

A spokesman for the city of San Jose, David Vossbrink, said an 'urgent' evacuation was necessary, citing sanitation and safety concerns.

When the camp is cleared out, a team will go through the hand-built structures and tents looking for cash, IDs or anything else of value. Those items will be sorted and stored for people to claim later.

Then city officials plan to send in trash trucks and bulldozers to flatten homes and haul out tons of hazardous and human waste.

Using heavy machinery, excavated sections where people have been living underground will be filled in by Christmas - leaving no sign of 'The Jungle' as it is now.

In the past year and a half, the city of San Jose has spent more than $4 million on solving the problems at the encampment and the cleanout was in May 2012 when about 150 people were moved out of The Jungle.

Mr Vossbrink attributed the homeless problem to several factors, including the financial crisis of 2008, during which many people 'lost their jobs or their homes,' and the technology boom in Silicon Valley, where rents are exorbitant and low-skilled jobs become scarce.

He added that 140 people from the camp have been housed in 'apartments, hotels, homes,' and another 60 had received 'good' financial assistance for housing on their own.

Officials will try to find people who have been involved in social services some kind of shelter for the night.

He said: 'We started to relocate for 18 months some of the homeless and intend to begin dismantling Thursday.

'This work is expected to last two or three weeks and will be accompanied by laying fences to prevent the homeless to relocate.'

But he admitted that it was unlikely that all of the residents forced out today could be relocated.

Excavated: Underground homes homeless people lived in will be filled in by Christmas, said San Jose city spokesman David Vossbrink

Nowhere to go: A man, who declined to give his name, walks with his packed-up belongings after being forced to leave his home in the camp

Clear out: A man, who only goes by David, gulps down a drink at the homeless camp a stone's throw from the opulence of Silicon Valley

Dilapidated: A man pushes a cart filled with debris at the camp, which has been described as a 'crime syndicate ruled by gangs'

Notice: City officials and police officers invaded the camp on Monday, taping warning to leave by today or face arrest for trespassing