Italy quake kills 100, devastates medieval town
Tuesday, 7 April 2009
L'AQUILA (Italy), April 6 (AFP): A violent earthquake jolted central Italy on Monday killing at least 100 people and injuring 1,500 as buildings and homes in a walled medieval town were reduced to rubble.
More than 1,700 rescuers scrambled to find victims trapped under collapsed dwellings in L'Aquila, the quake's epicentre, and officials warned the toll would rise.
Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi declared a state of emergency and cancelled a trip to Russia so he could go to the city, the capital of the Abruzzo region, about 100 kilometres (60 miles) northeast of Rome.
Shortly after emergency officials said the death toll had risen to 100 (until 11.00pm Bangladesh time Monday), Berlusconi said at a news conference here that another 1,500 were injured.
"Among the victims are two students, including one from the Czech Republic," Berlusconi said.
"I want to say something important, no one will be abandoned to his fate," he said, adding that a tent village was being set up that could accommodate between 16,000 and 20,000 people and would be ready by nightfall.
Some 50,000 people were made homeless, emergency services said.
The quake struck just after 3:30 am (0130 GMT) and lasted about 30 seconds, bringing down many Renaissance era and Baroque buildings, including the dome on one of L'Aquila's centuries-old churches. The city's cathedral was also damaged.
Roofs caved in on sleeping inhabitants and boulders fell off mountain slopes blocking many roads. At least five children were among the dead in L'Aquila, according to police quoted by ANSA news agency.
The quake measured magnitude 6.2, according to the Italian geophysical institute.
The epicentre was just five kilometers (three miles) directly below L'Aquila, which explained the heavy damage that was inflicted up to 30 kilometres away in all directions.
Sirens blared across the city as rescue workers with dogs raced to find survivors. Many of the 60,000 residents fled into the streets as more than a dozen aftershocks rattled the buildings.
Some even left L'Aquila by foot with belongings in suitcases picking through debris strewn through the streets.
Rescue workers pulled several people alive out of one four-storey building and said they could hear the cries of a woman still trapped. They planned to try to lift the roof with a giant crane.
More than 1,700 rescuers scrambled to find victims trapped under collapsed dwellings in L'Aquila, the quake's epicentre, and officials warned the toll would rise.
Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi declared a state of emergency and cancelled a trip to Russia so he could go to the city, the capital of the Abruzzo region, about 100 kilometres (60 miles) northeast of Rome.
Shortly after emergency officials said the death toll had risen to 100 (until 11.00pm Bangladesh time Monday), Berlusconi said at a news conference here that another 1,500 were injured.
"Among the victims are two students, including one from the Czech Republic," Berlusconi said.
"I want to say something important, no one will be abandoned to his fate," he said, adding that a tent village was being set up that could accommodate between 16,000 and 20,000 people and would be ready by nightfall.
Some 50,000 people were made homeless, emergency services said.
The quake struck just after 3:30 am (0130 GMT) and lasted about 30 seconds, bringing down many Renaissance era and Baroque buildings, including the dome on one of L'Aquila's centuries-old churches. The city's cathedral was also damaged.
Roofs caved in on sleeping inhabitants and boulders fell off mountain slopes blocking many roads. At least five children were among the dead in L'Aquila, according to police quoted by ANSA news agency.
The quake measured magnitude 6.2, according to the Italian geophysical institute.
The epicentre was just five kilometers (three miles) directly below L'Aquila, which explained the heavy damage that was inflicted up to 30 kilometres away in all directions.
Sirens blared across the city as rescue workers with dogs raced to find survivors. Many of the 60,000 residents fled into the streets as more than a dozen aftershocks rattled the buildings.
Some even left L'Aquila by foot with belongings in suitcases picking through debris strewn through the streets.
Rescue workers pulled several people alive out of one four-storey building and said they could hear the cries of a woman still trapped. They planned to try to lift the roof with a giant crane.