Italian Earthquake Update
The BBC has comprehensive coverage of the event. The basics are: 91 150 deaths, 1,500 injured, 30,000+ homeless in and around the town of L’Aquila. Many of the small villages in the area have been leveled, while utilities have been cut off and roads blocked.
This occurred on the mountainous spine of Italy and much of the construction was centuries old unreinforced masonry. Survivors report an extended period of shaking, rather that a single, sharp snap. This type is especially damaging to old masonry construction.
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Lord, what a tragedy. I hate the senseless destruction of human life, livelihood – and property. Everything irreplaceable. I understand even the hospital was destroyed. Just shows how futile “Homeland Security” really is.
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Welcome back to comments, Blogmother.
I have friends in Milan and Naples, so I have an interest.
The “Eagle” is a medieval fortress perched on a mountain, the reason for its name, L’Aquila. The older buildings were sited directly on the rock, so the force of the quake would be transmitted full force into the walls.
Any word yet from Milan or Naples? I understand it was felt in Rome.
andante´s last blog post..
It was 3:30am local, so they all slept through it, if it was noticeable. There have been a series of smaller quakes for some time, including the 4+ in Bologna, which is at the northern end of the spine, the Apennines, but nothing this strong in that area for centuries.
There will probably be a series of aftershocks, which will be really scary around the damaged buildings. Most of the recovery will have to be manual labor, because you would need to knock down buildings to get big equipment into most of the older Italian towns and villages.