Italian Earthquake

[Peikko 1,575]

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Scores of people were killed and tens of thousands left homeless in central Italy today after a powerful earthquake shook a mountain region, severely damaging a historic city and leaving hundreds feared trapped in rubble.

At least 92 people were known to have died, the Italian news agency Ansa reported, quoting local rescue workers, while the Red Cross said it faced a "race" to rescue those still trapped.

More than 1,500 people had been injured, the Italian prime minister, Silvio Berlusconi, told a press conference in L'Aquila, the badly damaged capital of the Abruzzo region, close to the quake's epicentre.

Berlusconi declared a state of emergency, calling off a scheduled trip to Russia to co-ordinate the government's response. "I want to say something important: no one will be abandoned to their fate," he told reporters.

The 6.3-magnitude tremor, which struck at 3.32am local time (2.32am BST), was the country's deadliest since the Irpinia quake in the south in November 1980, which killed more than 2,500 people...

[Peikko 1,575]

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An Italian scientist who predicted a major earthquake near L'Aquila a few weeks ago was forced to remove warnings from the internet after being reported to the police, it emerged today.

Giampaolo Giuliani, a researcher at the National Physical Laboratory of Gran Sasso, based his forecast on emissions of radon gas coming from the ground in seismically active areas.

The first tremors in the region were felt in mid-January and continued at regular intervals, leading to concerns that a large earthquake was imminent in the medieval city..."Every time there is an earthquake there are people who claim to have predicted it," he said. "As far as I know nobody predicted this earthquake with precision. It is not possible to predict earthquakes."

He said the real problem for Italy was a long-standing failure to take proper precautions despite a history of tragic quakes. "We have earthquakes, but then we forget and do nothing. It's not in our culture to take precautions or build in an appropriate way in areas where there could be strong earthquakes," he added.

Edited April 6, 2009 by Madame Cleo

[Chica Yeyé 41]

I can relate to that. Mexico also has quite the earthquake history; but I cannot recall much preparedness activities.

[Peikko 1,575]

I think it's partly a question of economic necessity of course. Sad for the victims, if at least some of them could have been saved with different structures in place

[fozzie 41]

I think it's partly a question of economic necessity of course. Sad for the victims, if at least some of them could have been saved with different structures in place

Their tourism industry is based around ruins, maybe they are looking to boost tourism.

[Chica Yeyé 41]

I think it's partly a question of economic necessity of course. Sad for the victims, if at least some of them could have been saved with different structures in place

Their tourism industry is based around ruins, maybe they are looking to boost tourism.

Please tell me you were not trying to be funny.

[fozzie 41]

I think it's partly a question of economic necessity of course. Sad for the victims, if at least some of them could have been saved with different structures in place

Their tourism industry is based around ruins, maybe they are looking to boost tourism.

Please tell me you were not trying to be funny.

Would you rather I was being serious?

[Chica Yeyé 41]

I think it's partly a question of economic necessity of course. Sad for the victims, if at least some of them could have been saved with different structures in place

Their tourism industry is based around ruins, maybe they are looking to boost tourism.

Please tell me you were not trying to be funny.

Would you rather I was being serious?

just checkin' bro, just checkin'

[mawilson 2,133]

Very sad.

[fozzie 41]

I think it's partly a question of economic necessity of course. Sad for the victims, if at least some of them could have been saved with different structures in place

Their tourism industry is based around ruins, maybe they are looking to boost tourism.

Please tell me you were not trying to be funny.

Would you rather I was being serious?

just checkin' bro, just checkin'