An earthquake has struck central Italy,
killing about 38 people – The earthquake struck before dawn on Wednesday,
August 24 – Rescue work is ongoing as Pope Francis speaks about the tragedy
Rescue workers trying to pull a trapped person
Central Italy was thrown into chaos this
Wednesday, August 24 morning, when one of the most powerful earthquakes ripped
through several towns devastating scores of building. At least 38 people have
been reported dead and dozens more injured, trapped or even missing. Scores of
buildings were reduced to dusty piles of masonry in communities close to the
epicenter of the quake, which had a magnitude of between 6.0 and 6.2, according
to monitors. According to the New York Times, Amatrice, Arquata del Tronto and
Pescara del Tronto were among the most heavily hit towns in the regions of
Umbria, Lazio and Marche. The toll of affected people is expected to rise, the
Italy’s civil protection unit said in the first official death toll. Rescuers
and firemen have begun inspecting buildings, especially in Amatrice for
survivors, as scores of buildings were reduced to dusty piles of cement and
block in the damaged communities.
A nun trying to check her phone after she gained consciousness
The mayor of Amatrice, Sergio Pirozzi,
said: “Half the town, no longer exists,” adding that rescue teams were digging
through the rubble, “hoping that most people were alive.” Immacolata
Postiglione, the head of the unit’s emergency department said: “There are still
so many people under masonry, so many missing.” Guido Bordo, a 69-year-old man
told the press, in the tiny village of Illica, near Accumoli: “My sister and
her husband are under the rubble, we’re waiting for diggers but they can’t get
up here.”
There’s no sound from them, we only heard
their cats. I wasn’t here, as soon as the quake happened I rushed here. They
managed to pull my sister’s children out, they’re in hospital now,” he added,
anxiously clasping and unclasping his hands. Other victims reported so far are:
a nine-month-old baby whose parents survived. Two other children aged four and
seven were saved by their quick-thinking grandmother, who ushered them under a
bed as soon as the shaking began, according to reports. Italian Prime Minister,
Matteo Renzi has cancelled his planned trip to France in order to oversee the
response to the disaster.
Pope Francis interrupted his weekly
audience in St Peter’s Square to express his shock. He said: “To hear the mayor
of Amatrice say his village no longer exists and knowing that there are
children among the victims, is very upsetting for me.”
The city in rubbles
The shocks were so strong that they woke
residents of central Rome which is about 150 kilometres away. At least 10 bodies had been recovered
there by midday and rescuers were still hard at work to rescue more people. The
mayor of Accumoli, one of the affected towns, Stefano Petrucci fought back
tears as he described the scenes as “a tragedy.” “There are people under the
ruins, it is not a good situation,” he said.
According to the United States Geological
Survey (USGS), the first quake measured 6.2,which said it occurred at a shallow
depth of 10 kilometres (six miles). It measured 6.0 according to Italian
monitors. A 5.4-magnitude aftershock followed an hour later. Meanwhile, an
earthquake and a sea intrusion may hit different parts of Nigeria, the national
president of the Association of Water-well Drilling Rig Owners and
Practitioners (AWDROP), Michael Ale, has warned. Suleiman Adamu, who is
Nigeria’s water resources minister Ale gave the warning in a communiqué issued
in Ibadan, Oyo state saying these disasters could be the result of a
proliferation of indiscriminate boreholes across the country.
