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Posted on 04/06/2009 8:50:16 AM PDT by BuckeyeTexan
More than 90 people are feared dead and tens of thousands are homeless after a magnitude-6.3 earthquake rocked the mountainous Abruzzo region of Italy today.
The temblor struck at 3:32 a.m. local time (9:32 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time Sunday) 60 miles (95 kilometers) northeast of Rome, according to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). The New York Times is reporting that it killed 92 people and left the homes of as many as 50,000 others in ruins.
“Some towns in the area have been virtually destroyed in their entirety,” said Gianfranco Fini, speaker of the lower house of Parliament, according to the newspaper.
The quake occurred in the Apennines, a mountain belt that runs from the Gulf of Taranto in southern Italy to the Po basin in the northern part of the country. It was caused by north-eastward movement of a microplate under the Adriatic Sea, which pulls apart the rocks that make up the Apennine Chain, according to Roger Musson, a seismologist at the British Geological Survey.
(Excerpt) Read more at sciam.com ...
Earlier tremors in 1349, 1461 and 1646 had repeatedly shattered the centre of what was once a powerful medieval city. Among the buildings reported to have been damaged in the latest quake is the cathedral, which was itself completely rebuilt after the 1703 disaster.
An Earthquake hitting Europe.....that’s definitely interesting.
Un-reinforced masonry construction is NOT your friend in a quake. Compare the similar magnitude quake in Coalinga, CA in 1983. No one died, even though several dozen brick downtown buildings fell. Newer construction in the town rode out the quake with minor damage. Sorry to hear about this.
Terrible. Prayers going up for the victims and their families.
Anyone know how buildings in and around the Vatican fared--and to a greater extent, Rome, as a result of this quake?
Prayers for the victims and families.
God bless them.
Rome was pretty far from this quake, very light shaking.
L’Aquila is a much bigger city than Coalinga. Also, L’Aquila was built on an old lake bed - it may have had worse soil characteristics than Coalinga.
That said, one of the most survivable quake structures is the American wood-frame house. We have plenty of urban areas in quake zones with unreinforced masonry, though, and we’re going to have our own disaster in time.
The images on TV of the victims of this quake are so sad. Prayers for the earthquake victims and their families...
Thanks for the ping!
Why? They happen all the time, and have happened throughout history. There are plenty of geological fault lines in and around central and southern Europe. They haven't been all that active in recent years, but there are records of major and minor earthquakes in the region going back centuries. Obviously the fact that there have been many deaths from this quake is tragic for the people involved, but from a geological point of view this event was nothing out of the ordinary.
More for the number of dead in a pretty modern area than for the fact a quake happened.
Having lived in southern California my entire life, I always do a little double-take when visiting homes in the midwest......the number of “doo-dads” on top of wall rails and all over the houses remind me that these folks have never had to do a pickup.
6.3, big, not huge. But too much for some older structures it Italy.
Strong quake hits Italy, at least 6 dead
UPI | April 6, 2009 | UPI
Posted on 04/05/2009 11:13:12 PM PDT by americanophile
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2223120/posts
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Yeah, given that most of the buildings in the area will have been built long before the modern building codes came into force, it’s probably not too surprising to see so many collapsing and causing fatalities. It happened elsewhere in Italy just a couple of years ago.
Even today, if quakes only happen in an area every couple of hundred years or more, it’s difficult to justify strict building codes when not even a tremble may happen in the lifetime of those living there today.
Prayers for the injured and grieving.
I sure hope that 50 grand Dear Leader so generously offered will help people. /s
Adding to your prayers, esp. for those trapped in the rubble. Please God, let many be saved from the depths.
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