Rescuers search Italy Quake rubble

Mon, 06 Apr 2009 18:55:43 -0400

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. More than 1,000 rescue workers were this afternoon scrambling to reach those trapped in collapsed buildings. "We will work for the next 48 hours without any stop, because we have to save lives," Francesco Rocca, the head of Italy's Red Cross, told BBC television. "We estimate that hundreds of people could still be alive under the buildings." It was now "a race" to save those trapped, he added. Up to 50,000 people may have been left homeless by this morning's quake, a spokesman for Italy's civil protection agency said. The need for shelter is all the more urgent in a region where night-time temperatures remain just above 5C (41F). Tens of thousands of tents, along with field kitchens and mobile hospital units, were being rushed to the region. Neighbouring countries offered assistance, and the US president, Barack Obama, was among the first to send his condolences. L'Aquila, with a population of around 70,000, has been left in a state of ch...

Italian Community: Earthquake

Thu, 16 Apr 2009 10:39:38 -0400

L’aquila, Italy. At the time of writing this there are more than 250 dead, and more expected to be discovered. More than 28'000 are now homeless with nothing left to go back to. And to make matters worse countless old historic sites and buildings are lost forever in what can only be described as a tragedy. Rescue efforts were halted for a few hours as aftershocks hit the area, sending fear back into the residents of L'aquila. Many people were afraid to sleep indoors and found open areas to make tents or make shift shelters, many slept in their cars. Search dogs and robots are being used to locate survivors, but so far it has been mostly the dead who are being found. Efforts to find people go on through the night, the citizens of L'aquila hold a lot of hope and look ahead to a slow recovery for their town. Many Edmonton families have relatives in the effected areas of Italy, so far there have been no reports of anyone dying that is related to a local family. This service at the church here in Edmonton was held to remember the dead and pray for the people who will have to fight back in order to gain some ground in their new life, many being left homeless and with great loss. ]]>

Truveo Video Search: Many Feared Dead In Italian Earthquake Videos

Rescuers search Italy Quake rubble

Italian Community: Earthquake