EARTQUAKE 2009 ABRUZZO
06.04.2009
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h. 19:13
OVER 100 DEAD, 1,500 INJURED
(ANSA) - Rome, April 6 - Monday's earthquake in central Italy left over 100 dead, 1,500 injured and some 70,000 homeless, officials said 14 hours after the disaster, Italy's biggest quake in almost 30 years. The official death toll was set at 91 but rescuers said they had pulled over 108 bodies from rubble in the Abruzzo capital L'Aquila and neighbouring towns and that numbers were set to rise.

h. 18:26
'HUGE' ARTISTIC DAMAGE
(ANSA) - Rome, April 6 - Monday's earthquake in L'Aquila caused ''huge'' damage to the medieval city's artistic heritage, Heritage Ministry Secretary-General Giuseppe Proietti said. The apse of the Abruzzo city's largest Romanesque church, the 13th-century Basilica di Santa Maria di Collemaggio, had collapsed ''from the transept to the back of the church,'' he said. The Basilica, with its famed pink-and-white jewel-box façade, was the site of the coronation of Pope Celestine V in 1294 and thousands of pilgrims still flock there each year. The Porta Napoli, the oldest and most beautiful gate to the city built in 1548 in honour of the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, was destroyed in the quake. There were also concerns for the National Museum of Abruzzo, which is housed in the 16th-century castle. Created in 1950, the Museum unified the collections of the civic and diocesan museums as well as a private collection of paintings from the 17th and 18th centuries and includes a beautifully preserved fossilised skeleton of a prehistoric elephant found near the town in the 1950s. The castle suffered a collapse on its third floor and is too dangerous to enter, according to Proietti. ''The store rooms where damaged works are kept safe are also in areas that have collapsed or unstable,'' said Proietti, who added that he was gathering a team of heritage experts from other regions to help salvage the works. Elsewhere in the city, the cupola of the 17th-century Anime Sante church and the bell tower of L'Aquila's largest Renaissance church, San Bernardino da Siena, were also down. The cupola of the 18th-century Baroque church of St Augustine collapsed, flattening the prefecture that held L'Aquila's state archives. St Augustine was previously destroyed in an earthquake in 1703 and had to be rebuilt. ''Naturally there have been various collapses all over the city, with cornices, walls and pieces of roof often obstructing the streets,'' Proietti said.

h. 18:06
PREDICTION IMPOSSIBLE, RADON GAS NOT RELIABLE
(ANSA) - L'Aquila, April 6 - There was no way to predict the earthquake which rocked the central region of Abruzzo in the early hours of Monday morning, Civil Protection chief Guido Bertolaso told a news conference here in the region's capital. At least 92 people were killed, some 1,500 injured and thousands left homeless by the earthquake which measured 6.2 on today's generally used MMS scale, compared to 5.8 on the Richter scale, which scientists only use now for smaller quakes. There have been tremors here since last January and experts were here last week to examine the phenomenon but Bertolaso said they had ''no technical or scientific elements which could have led them to forecast this sort of quake''. His position was confirmed by Enzo Boschi, the chairman of Italy's National Institute for Geophysics and Vulcanology (INGV) who said it was impossible to predict when such tremors will occur ''because the parameter variables change constantly''. Ignazio Guerra of the University of Calabria agreed and downplayed claims that they can be forecast based on radon gas emissions. ''To say that there will be an earthquake somewhere means nothing. Predicting means indicating time, place and magnitude. At present it is impossible to do this,'' Guerra said. ''There have been earthquakes without the emission of radon gas just as there have been emissions of radon gas without earthquakes. Thus this method is far from perfect,'' Guerra explained. Using radon gas emissions as a means to predict earthquakes has been championed by an expert at the National Astrophysics Institute, Gioacchino Giampaolo Giuliani, who has attracted considerable press attention. The INGV has been studying this method for some 20 years, but according to institute scientist Federica Quattrocchi ''it still has not been perfected enough to become an effective means of prediction''. ''I don't question his (Giuliani's) research, only his methods. People like him operate on the fringes of the scientific community and with their claims complicate our own work''. Guerra was even harsher and said that predictions by people like Giuliani ''can be even more damaging that a real earthquake'' because of the panic this can create and the effect it can have on the economy and property values in the area. The seismic activity which has occured in the province of L'Aquila since January led a group of local 'criers' last month to tell city residents to abandon their homes because an earthquake was about to strike. Police are investigating the group and it is unclear whether they based their action on Guiliani's claims.

h. 17:51
MINUTE'S SILENCE AT UN
(ANSA) - New York, April 6 - The head of the United Nations General Assembly on Monday asked for a minute's silence ahead of the day's session in memory of the dozens of victims of the earthquake that hit central Italy. Miguel D'Escoto Bockmann said the gesture was also one of support for the victims' families and the thousands left homeless by the 6.2 magnitude quake that struck the city of L'Aquila and surrounding areas.

h. 17:27
SNIFFER DOGS TO HELP RESCUE WORKERS IN QUAKE-HIT AREA
(ANSA) - L'Aquila, April 6 - Thirty-one sniffer dogs have been brought in to help rescue workers digging through the rubble in quake-hit L'Aquila, civil protection officials said on Monday. More than 1,600 firefighters and 677 vehicles have been rushed to the central city. Relief workers said they had set up three tent camps at L'Aquila, Barisciano and Bazzano and had arranged 4,320 beds for survivors of the quake.

h. 16:48
EXPERTS COULD NOT HAVE FORECAST L'AQUILA QUAKE
(ANSA) - L'Aquila, April 6 - Experts could not have forecast the quake which hit L'Aquila on Monday, killing at least 92 people, former civil protection chief Giuseppe Zamberletti told ANSA. Zamberletti chairs the civil protection's committee on major quakes which met in L'Aquila last week following a series of swarm quakes which have jolted the area since January. ''At the moment, we (experts) are unable to forecast when an earthquake will take place... we only know where they will happen,'' he said. Referring to polemics over suggested predictions, Zamberletti said these ''hypotheses were wrong''. ''They suggested (the city of) Sulmona as epicentre of the quake whereas it turned out to be L'Aquila,'' he said, referring to the quake swarms which some experts said were precursors to a major quake. ''Precursors of quakes have not given, nor do they give, indications on when an earthquake will take place''.

h. 16:44
AFTERSHOCKS EVERY 3-5 MINUTES
(ANSA) - Rome, April 6 - Aftershocks from the strong earthquake which rocked the central region of Abruzzo early Monday morning continue to take place at intervals of between three and five minutes, according to Italy's National Geophysics and Vulcanology Institute (INGV). After the most powerful aftershocks of 4.6 and 3.5 on the Richter Scale, at 4:37am and 10:30am respectively, there was a 3.2 tremor at 1:14pm, the INGV added. The earthquake at just before 3:30am measured 6.2 on the more generally used MMS scale, compared to 5.8 on the Richter scale that is no longer widely used, experts stressed. Over 90 people were killed, some 1,5000 injured and thousands left homeless in the wake of the major earthquake. MMS stands for moment magnitude scale and it measures the amount of energy released by an earthquake. It is usually not used to measure smaller quakes or tremors.

h. 16:24
92 DEAD, 1,500 INJURED
(ANSA) - Rome, April 6 - Monday's earthquake in central Italy left 92 dead, 1,500 injured and some 70,000 homeless, officials said twelve hours after the disaster, Italy's biggest quake in almost 30 years. The 6.2 magnitude quake, which ripped through Abruzzo capital L'Aquila and neighbouring towns, came at 03:33 local (01:33 GMT). One foreign national has so far been found among those killed, a female student from the Czech republic. Some 4,000 rescuers were at work and the European Union's disaster fund had been activated, said Premier Silvio Berlusconi who cancelled a trip to Moscow to be at the scene. Helicopters were taking the most badly injured to hospital while many minor casualties were driving, or being driven, to Rome. Some 2,000 tents were being put up for the homeless, each able to house 8-10 people, empty couchette trains were also being made available, and the fire service thought it could find temporary lodgings for 2,000 more, Berlusconi said. Abruzzo Governor Gianni Chiodi said some 10,000 of the displaced could be moved to hotels on the coast. Berlusconi urged citizens not to stay indoors because of the risk of aftershocks or new quakes. The earthquake was Italy's worst since 2,570 people were killed southeast of Naples in 1980. The two most recent big quakes were in 1997 when 11 died in a tremor that damaged churches in Assisi and in 2002 when 27 school children and one teacher were killed in the collapse of a school east of Naples.

h. 16.10
PRIORITY IS RELIEF EFFORT, PREMIER SAYS
(ANSA) - L'Aquila, April 6 - Premier Silvio Berlusconi told Italians on Monday the country needed to focus on helping L'Aquila and worry about the possibility of forecasting quakes once the emergency is over. Speaking to reporters after surveying the damage from a helicopter, the premier said: ''now is not the time for discussion''. ''We need to react, do things. Once we've taken care of everything then we can begin to talk about whether it is possible to forecast earthquakes''. The premier said he had received a phone call from centre-left opposition leader Dario Franceschini voicing solidarity and best wishes for the relief operations. Berlusconi said he had called an emergency cabinet meeting at 7 pm local time to earmark funds to handle the emergency.

h. 15:58
ITALY TO SEEK SPECIAL EU FUNDS
(ANSA) - Luxembourg, April 6 - Italy will formally ask to benefit from a special European Union fund earmarked for the consequences of natural disasters, Italy's permanent representative to the EU said on Monday. ''On instructions from our government, I have informed the European Commission of the intention of the Italian government to seek access to the European fund for support following natural disasters, '' Ferdinando Nelli Feroci said. Italy's representative made his announcement on the sidelines of a meeting of EU interior and justice ministers and said he had personally informed EC Vice President Jacques Barrot, who was at the meeting, of Rome's intentions. Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi had earlier announced that Rome would use this funds to help deal with the aftermath of a devastating earthquake which rocked the central region of Abruzzo in the early morning hours of Monday and left over 90 people dead and thousands homeless.

h. 15:53
NO POSSIBILITY OF FORECASTING QUAKE, CIVIL PROTECTION CHIEF
(ANSA) - L'Aquila, April 6 - There was no possibility of forecasting the quake which hit L'Aquila on Monday, killing at least 92 people, Civil Protection chief Guido Bertolaso told a news conference. Bertolaso, who is leading the huge rescue operation in the central Italian city, said experts who gathered here last week had ''no technical or scientific elements which could have led them to forecast this sort of quake,'' from a series of minor jolts which had hit the area recently. ''The only thing which could have been done and which was done was to set up the (rescue) system''. Former civil protection chief, Franco Barberi, told ANSA that there was no way ''of forecasting this or any other quake''. Barberi was one of the experts who took part in a meeting in L'Aquila on March 31 following the quakes which shook the area over the last weeks. ''We concentrated our efforts on outlining a list of recommendations, including preventive measures, planning what needs to be done when the emergency arises and shoring up old and unsafe buildings,'' he added. ''What's important in a similar emergency is setting up an efficient relief effort and this seems to be taking place right now''.

h. 15:27
QUAKE: MAGNITUDE 6.2
(ANSA) - Rome, April 6 - The quake that rocked central Italy Monday was magnitude 6.2 on today's generally used MMS scale, compared to 5.8 on the Richter scale that is no longer widely used, experts stressed. MMS ''provides a better estimate of the irradiated energy'' while Richter ''only measures the waves closest to the epicenter,'' Italy's Geophysics and Vulcanology Institute said.

h. 15:13
CHILDREN NEED SPECIAL HELP TO OVERCOME TRAUMA
(ANSA) - Rome, April 6 - Children will need special help to psychologically overcome the trauma from the destructive earthquake which rocked the central region of Abruzzo in the early morning hours of Monday, according to the international Save the Children organization. ''Children, and not just the injured, are the people who are most vulnerable in an emergency like this. They were awoken in the middle of the night at the height of the quake, forced to flee their homes and are now in a stake of shock,'' Save the Children Italy Director Valerio Neri explained. ''Some have lost contact with their parents and it is imperative that an identification system be established to reunite families,'' he added. ''The shutting down of schools in areas devastated by the earthquake will also be traumatic for children and everything must be done to restore their daily routines as quickly as possible,'' Neri said. Save the Children has issued guidelines for adults in the treatment of children which, among other things, recommended that time be taken out to listen to children and to reassure them as much as possible. Adults should take advantage of professional help in dealing with children, the charity said. Parents were also told not to let their children spend too much time in front of the TV, especially during news broadcasts dealing with the earthquake.

h. 14:47
COMMUNICATIONS AND ENERGY DAMAGE TO BE EVALUATED
(ANSA) - Rome, April 6 - Industry minister Claudio Scajola has set up a special task force which will evaluate the damage to telecommunications and energy infrastructures from Monday morning's earthquake in the central region of Abruzzo. Special attention will be paid to the electricity network and three transformers have been sent to the region to ensure there is no interruption in service. The official death toll from the quake is now over 90 and is expected to rise.

h. 14:43
WORLD SENDS CONDOLENCES
(ANSA) - Rome, April 6 - Condolences and offers of help arrived in Italy Monday from around the world following the L'Aquila earthquake that killed at least 92 people. The European Union, the United States, Russia, Germany, France, Greece, Israel, Poland and Afghanistan were among countries who contacted the Italian government following the tragedy. Turkey's equivalent of the Red Cross, the Red Crescent, also said it was available to send humanitarian aid to the stricken area. United States President Barack Obama sent his condolences to the families hit by the quake as he arrived for an official visit in Turkey, while Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said he was ''deeply shocked'' by the news of the quake and offered to send aid. The European Commission said it was ready to send assistance immediately if requested by Italy. An EC spokesperson said the European Civil Protection Department's Monitoring and Information Centre (MIC) was ready to provide tents and support for those who lost their homes in the disaster, while Italy may be eligible for emergency aid from the European Solidarity Fund, available in the event of emergencies when damage is greater than three billion euros or 0.6% of GDP. Polish Premier Donald Tusk said the Polish people were ''united in sorrow'' with the families of the victims as well as those who had lost their homes in the quake. Afghan President Hamid Karzai said he was ''profoundly saddened'' by the tragedy. Agostino Miozzo, director of Italy's civil protection department, said for the moment Italy did ''not need help from other countries''. Embassies were meanwhile checking if any foreign nationals were involved in the quake.

h. 14:36
QUAKE: 92 DEAD
(ANSA) - L'Aquila, April 6 - The death toll from Monday's earthquake in L'Aquila rose to 92 at 14:30 or 11 hours after the quake, rescuers said. The toll is expected to rise as teams recover more bodies, they said.

h. 14:02
'HUGE' ARTISTIC DAMAGE
(ANSA) - L'Aquila, April 6 - Monday's earthquake in L'Aquila caused ''huge'' damage to the medieval city's artistic heritage, Heritage Ministry Secretary-General Giuseppe Proietti said. The apse of the Abruzzo city's largest Romanesque church, the 13th-century Basilica di Santa Maria di Collemaggio, had collapsed ''from the transept to the back of the church,'' he said. The cupola of the 17th-century Anime Sante church and the bell tower of L'Aquila's largest Renaissance church, San Bernardino da Siena church, were also down.

h. 13:52
EXPERT BLAMES BAD BUILDING FOR HIGH DEATH TOLL
(ANSA) - Rome, April 6 - Poor construction methods were to blame for the high death toll from Monday's earthquake in central Italy, which itself was not that powerful, according to a leading expert. Over 50 people were killed in the central region of Abruzzo following a quake in the early morning hours of Monday which measured 5.8 on the Richter Scale. ''The damage in the Abruzzo region involved buildings which were not built to withstand a quake that was not even particularly strong,'' observed Enzo Boschi, the chairman of Italy's National Institute for Geophysics and Vulcanology (INGV). ''It is always distressing to note that we do not have the mentality to build adequate structures in areas at risk of seismic activity. In other words, we don't construct buildings to withstand quakes nor to we revamp old buildings to make them safe from collapse,'' Boschi said. ''We have detailed maps which indicate the areas which are most at risk of earthquakes and we have also indicated what actions are needed to make buildings safe. But little or nothing has been done,'' he added. Looking back at Monday's early morning's quake, Boschi said ''it was a common tremor for the Apennine mountain chain, one which occurs when underground shelves shift by ten centimeters or so''. It is impossible to predict when such tremors will occur, Boschi observed, ''because the parameter variables change constantly. However, in the near future there should no other ones similar in magnitude to the one last night, although we can expect after shocks to continue in addition to the over 100 we have already recorded''. Ignazio Guerra of the University of Calabria agreed that it was impossible to predict when and where earthquakes will take place and downplayed claims that they can be forecast based on radon gas emissions. ''To say that there will be an earthquake somewhere means nothing. Predicting means indicating time, place and magnitude. At present it is impossible to do this,'' Guerra said. ''There have been earthquakes without the emission of radon gas just as there have been emissions of radon gas without earthquakes. Thus this method is far from perfect,'' Guerra explained. According to the expert, incorrect prediction ''can be even more damaging that a real earthquake'' because of the panic this can create and the effect it can have on the economy and property values in the area. Seismic activity in January in the province of L'Aquila, the capital of Abruzzo, led a group of local 'criers' last month to tell city residents to abandon their homes because an earthquake was about to strike. Police are investigating the group and it is unclear whether they based their action on the increase in radon emissions.

h. 13:27
L'AQUILA EARTHQUAKE MAKES NEWS WORLDWIDE
(ANSA) - Rome, April 6 - News of the L'Aquila earthquake made the front pages of the websites of newspapers and television stations worldwide Monday and racked up over 1,600 stories on Google News within eight hours of the event. The quake was the top item on America's New York Times and Los Angeles Times websites, while the Washington Post posted it second after a feature on United States President Barack Obama's official visit to Turkey. In Britain, the quake made the front page of the BBC website, which described survivors as ''a stream of ghostly figures'' wearing blankets and dragging luggage along the streets in search of safety. The earthquake was also the main item on sites for most British newspapers including The Guardian and The Times and The Independent, with many carrying video images from L'Aquila. French newspaper Le Monde ran the earthquake as the second item on its homepage with the title ''Earthquake in Italy: the deaths were inevitable'' and carrying an interview with a French geophysicist at the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre, while Le Figaro featured the aftermath of the quake in photos as its main item. The earthquake was also the top story on the websites of German newspapers Der Spiegel and Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung as well as Spain's El Mundo, which described it as ''apocalyptic''. El Mundo also ran an item about an Italian geologist from the Gran Sasso National Physics Laboratory who reportedly raised the alarm several days before the quake but was accused of alarmism, asking ''could the disaster have been avoided if he had been taken seriously''?

h. 13:22
QUAKE: ROME SITES LARGELY UNTOUCHED
(ANSA) - Rome, April 6 - Rome's archeological heritage was left largely untouched by the Monday quake that sent a shudder through the capital as it caused death and destruction in L'Aquila 100 km (60 miles) to the east. The Terme di Caracalla had suffered damage that still had to be quantified but the Forum and Colosseum were unscathed, Archeological Superintendent Angelo Bottini said. ''But we'll have to wait until tomorrow to have a complete and detailed picture,'' Bottini said.

h. 13:09
OBAMA SENDS CONDOLENCES
(ANSA) - Rome, April 6 - United States President Barack Obama sent his condolences to the families hit by the large earthquake that killed at least 50 people in central Italy Monday. The European Union, Russia and Israel were among other countries that offered condolences and aid.

h. 13:03
'GIVE BLOOD'
(ANSA) - Rome, April 6 - Italians were urged to give blood after at least 50 people including five children were killed and thousands injured by an earthquake in and around L'Aquila east of Rome Monday. Welfare Minister Maurizio Sacconi said ''all citizens'' should answer the call after a national state of emergency was declared. Interior Minister Roberto Maroni said 2,500 rescue workers including 1,500 firemen were heading for L'Aquila as teams continued to dig through the rubble of the medieval city.

h. 12:39
MORE THAN 50 DEAD
(ANSA) - Rome, April 6 - At least 50 people including five children were killed in a large earthquake that hit the city of L'Aquila and neighbouring towns east of Rome early Monday, Interior Minister Roberto Maroni said. He said the thousands of people left homeless would be accommodated in hotels or temporary structures that were being put up. The 5.8 magnitude quake injured thousands and left many more trapped in the rubble. ''It's the worst tragedy since the start of the millennium,'' said Civil Protection chief Guido Bertolaso who is leading a huge rescue operation. Survivors were digging through the rubble, some with their bare hands, in five areas of the city where buildings had collapses ''like cardboard,'' eye witnesses said. As Pope Benedict XVI prayed for the victims, especially the children, Premier Silvio Berlusconi cancelled a visit to Moscow to rush to the scene and several countries offered aid. A cabinet meeting has been set for 19.00 Italian time (17:00 GMT). Scenes of the disaster opened news bulletins and hit websites worldwide, with pictures of the dead in streets and the frantic rescue efforts. The quake, which hit at 3:30 a.m. (01:30 GMT), had its epicentre just outside L'Aquila, a medieval city with 68,000 inhabitants 100 km (60 miles) east of Rome. It was felt as far away as Rome where people were woken up as buildings shook. At least 26 towns and villages were hit by the tremor in and around L'Aquila, the capital of the mountainous Abruzzo region. It was the worst quake in size since 1997 when ten people were killed and massive damage done in and around Assisi. The toll was the worst since 2002 when 20 died in a school near Naples. Several countries and the European Union offered Italy aid.

h. 12:09
TOLL UP TO 40
(ANSA) - Rome, April 6 - At least 40 people including five children were killed in a large earthquake that hit the city of L'Aquila and neighbouring towns east of Rome early Monday, official sources said. The 5.8 magnitude quake injured thousands and left many more trapped in the rubble. ''It's the worst tragedy since the start of the millennium,'' said Civil Protection chief Guido Bertolaso who is leading a huge rescue effort. As Pope Benedict XVI prayed for the victims, especially the children, Premier Silvio Berlusconi cancelled a visit to Moscow to rush to the scene and several countries offered aid. A cabinet meeting has been set for 19.00 Italian time (17:00 GMT). The quake, which hit at 3:30 a.m. (01:30 GMT), had its epicentre just outside L'Aquila, a medieval city 100 km (60 miles) east of Rome. It was felt as far away as Rome where people were woken up and some buildings shook. At least 26 towns and villages were hit by the tremor in and around L'Aquila, the capital of the mountainous Abruzzo region.

h. 11:48
POPE PRAYS, 'IN PARTICULAR FOR CHILDREN'
(ANSA) - Vatican City, April 6 - Pope Benedict XVI said he was praying for the victims of the earthquake that hit the city of L'Aquila while it slept Monday. ''''I am praying for the victims and in particular for the children,'' said the pope after the 5.8 magnitude quake that killed at least 27 including several children and injured thousands. Vatican sources said the ''dramatic news'' of the quake ''filled the pope's soul with consternation''. It said the pope sent a ''special blessing'' to those affected and those involved in a massive rescue effort.

h. 10:59
QUAKE HITS L'AQUILA
(ANSA) - Rome, April 6 - A large earthquake hit the medieval city of L'Aquila east of Rome Monday killing at least 27 people and destroying homes, churches and other buildings. Many people were trapped in the rubble and the toll was expected to rise. The epicentre of the 5.8 magnitude quake was near the 13th-century city of 68,000 people 100km (60 miles)east of Rome, capital of the mountainous Abruzzo region. It was the worst quake in size since 1997 when ten people were killed and massive damage done at and around Assisi. The toll was the worst since 2002 when 20 died in a school near Naples. Premier Silvio Berlusconi cancelled a trip to Moscow and rushed to the scene of the disaster. President Giorgio Napolitano called it a ''tragedy''.

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