Italian earthquake causes widespread damage but no deaths

For the second time in two months, central Italy this morning woke up to the frightening impact of a severe ‘earthquake night’ when the earth shook at least nine times.

Unlike the August 24th earthquake, in which 298 people died, this latest “shake” has fortunately claimed no lives but has caused widespread structural damage, leaving thousands homeless.

Although the area struck last night is situated just 40-50 kilometres north of Amatrice, the hardest hit town in the August earthquake, experts this morning suggested that this latest seismic activity is the product of a new fault line.

The epicentre of last night’s tremors was in the province of Macerata, with the towns of Castel Santangelo Sul Nera, Precci, Visso and Ussita being hardest hit.

Fabrizio Curcio, the head of Italy’s civil protection force, told reporters late last night that the situation was “not as catastrophic” as might have been expected after such a powerful quake.

Given that the earth continued to shake, however, thousands of people chose to leave their homes, sleeping in their cars. In the meantime, temporary tented accommodation was already being prepared by the Red Cross in some of the towns, notwithstanding the incessant rain which fell on the whole area.

That rain continued this morning making life difficult for the townspeople, slowing up the recovery and clean-up operation as well as bringing down the temperature.

Furthermore, local authorities are now worried that the incessant rain will cause further landslides provoked by last night’s first tremors, leading to the closure of some roads including the Via Salaria.

Local people point out that, ironically, it was the very succession of tremors last night which probably saved lives.

Following the first shake of 5.4 on the Richter scale just after 7pm, the majority of people were so frightened that they abandoned their houses, offices and shops.

When the second, stronger tremor of 5.9 came two hours later, prompting the collapse of a number of buildings, people were already out on the street, in positions of relative safety.

Volcanologists suggest the inhabitants of Macerata should prepare themselves for further after-shocks given that earthquakes often rumble on for a period of up to six months.

In the meantime, many areas in Macerata are without electricity and telephones whilst the hospitals of Tolentino, Matelica and Cingoli and the prison of Camerino have been evacuated.

As the area attempts to recover itself, it seems certain that thousands will have to be rehoused. Given that the area has a largely elderly population and the cold winters experienced there, the normal “tented village” solution will hardly be appropriate, placing furrther pressure on local authorities to find suitable accommodation.

This is the sixth major earthquake to strike Italy in the last 20 years following those of Umbria in 1997, Molise in 2002, L’Aquila in 2009, Emilia Romagna in 2012 and Amatrice this summer.

On its website, the Civil Protection Authority points out that apart from the island of Sardinia, “the entire Italian territory...has been struck at least once by an earthquake of I-VI degree on the Mercalli scale i.e producing only minor damage.”