Earthquake

[Aretina]

Perhaps he should have gone sooner, he hit bad rain!!

Pope Benedict XVI visits Abruzzo earthquake zone to pray for victims - Times Online

[pilchard]

This last month really has not been a happy one for Abruzzo. The earthquakes causing death & destruction in L'Aquila & well beyond. Then the torrential downpours, assisted by aftershocks, causing vast numbers of mudslides either blocking roads or wiping them out.
All our Italian neighbours are taking a less than stoic, stiff upper lip, approach. They are still either in their cars or camping in tents & some have even hired/bought in small Portacabins for sleeping in. 85 year old Cesare is sleeping in the car, his sister Giusepina is sleeping on the sofa close to the front door of the house & her son, 60 year old Domenico dozes at the kitchen table, ready to jump up & carry Mama out of the house should a big one happen. "No one can predict that it's all over" they say. It's their country. I respect their local knowledge & experience but lack the stamina to worry on a daily basis about my safety. I'd hoped to die, in bed, of natural causes but, a few dozen tons of steel re-inforced concrete roof will do just as well. My bed calls me.
On a recent trip up north I took the time to call into a couple of suppliers of Log Cabins I've known of for some time. At one of them I half jokingly asked if his order books were now crammed with new clients for earthquake proof Log Cabins. "Unbelievable" was the response. Ten on their way to L'Aquila this week & more to come. For the price of a small family car people can live & sleep in comfort & security in their own gardens, if they have one. Bet planning regs are getting VERY relaxed at the moment.
Was reading about Santo Stefano di Sessiano in an old newspaper at my Physiotherapist's the other day. The ancient Medici borgo on the flanks of the Gran Sasso range had survived unscathed because of the sympathetic restoration techniques employed....... primarily the re-roofing in the traditional, lightweight, style of timbered roofs. Not a slab of concrete in sight. Unfortunately, the tower..... the one that collapsed...... had been "restored" in the 70's with a large & heavy slab of concrete for it's upper deck. Come the earthquake, that mass, that sheer weight at the top of the tower, swung around like a pendulum till the poor old tower could no longer cope & it fell under the strain. Lightweight timber roofs & upper structures really are the best form of earthquake defense.
Domenicos brother, Mario, & his wife recently asked us to help them move from their old, undamaged, farmhouse to a 30 year old, 4 storey apartment block. When I asked them why they were moving they said it was because the apartment block was safer. I decided it was best to not try to analyze with them the structural physics. They need their sleep.
Pilch

[juliancoll]

Use the upturned bottles and sleep well Pilch. Sorry to hear about the tower.

[Noble]

Dear Pilch, anyone that reads what you have posted will be touched by it. Someone I know wrote a tribute to the people of the Abruzzo and illustrated it with photos of Santo Stefano di Sessanzio. Here's the link. Anne Robichaud - My Italy Travel Explorations - Along for the Ride in the Mugello Valley

[Monique]

The historic city of L'Aquila suffered widespread damage in the quake

Half of the homes in Italy's quake-hit city of L'Aquila are now habitable, the country's Prime Minister, Silvio Berlusconi, has said. Technicians were checking 1,000 homes each day, he said, and had judged 53% of them to be safe, with another 15% habitable within a month. But Mr Berlusconi said he understood many were reluctant to go home while aftershocks continued in the area.
Nearly 300 people died in the 6.3 magnitude quake on 6 April.
Some 65,000 people are still homeless. Around 36,000 are living in tents while others are being put up in hotels.
Hospital reopening
Mr Berlusconi made his comments in a speech praising the work of the emergency services after the earthquake.

"We are carrying out more than 1,000 checks a day with 160 teams of technicians and 22,700 home tests have already been done," he said.
"It appears that 53.7% of homes are immediately habitable while 15.8% could be made sound in about 30 days after moderate work."
The prime minister also promised that L'Aquila's hospital would reopen by the end of May. Last month Pope Benedict XVI visited the region to offer condolences to the quake survivors.

Source

[Navelli Elf Posse]

We've just returned from Navelli. Luckily most of the village (but not all) escaped the worst. Our geometra got a big hug from us - at the time we complained about the amount of steel, cement etc going into our house but we have been so so lucky.

The most striking thing about everything was the profoundly disturbing emotional experience of the earthquake itself - one of the women in the village who is very strong, determined and stoical said to me that her life would never be the same again, as for the first time she truly knew what it was like to be a grain of sand on an enormous beach. The priest said to me that he remembered as a child shaking insects in a box, and he felt the same when it all happened.

Everyone is sleeping in tents save for those outside the centro storico. I think that it's more about fear of returning than actual prohibition on sleeping in houses, although there are daily inspections (and daily aftershocks). There is general sadness, but also relief at surviving. The destruction is truly terrible to see, churches with frescos exposed after years of protection, houses cracked like jigsaws, shops closed and piazzas cordoned off.


We feel so desperately for our friends who have lost houses and businesses, and of course most of all for those who have lost friends and loved ones. But we know that the Abruzzese are strong enough to get through this, and this must give everyone hope.

[Charles Phillips]

That was a great post, Navelli.

Though - I know it seems difficult now to think this way - but it will be overcome. Maybe a year down the road the earthquake experience will be dimmed in the pysche, and a more optimistic attitude will prevail.

I have been there, done that, not got rid of the frightener when I'm in a less than rigid building...and maybe it is just me, but it doesn't faze me any more. I just think - huh - another quake. Being realistic about this stuff - as adriatica has been recently: no decently built or restored building will suffer. Maybe this sounds a bit brutal, but I do have 'the earthquake tee shirt'. It is commendable that we sympathise and help in our own small ways the current sufferers - but we should add a perspective. For a few, normal life means living in a well serviced tent, for a while. Is that so intolerable?