Earthquake

[pilchard]

Anyone feel it? Approx 3.30 this morning.
Whole house shook for abour 20 secs like a plate of blancmange.
All the locals are up.
Early reports suggest it was 5.8 & centred (educated quess on my part) somewhere between Popoli & L'aquila.
Am very much wide awake.
Pilch

[pilchard]

Just had another slight shake. All our neighbours are up & outside with lights blazing, dogs barking & lots of cars on the roads. Suspect that all families checking out the old folk. Hope all is well for everyone.
Sprat

[pilchard]

We will be going up the hill at first light. Fingers crossed!
Sprat

[pilchard]

I was wide awake when it happened, another sleepless night. I had been up making cammomile & mint tea, and kept hearing rattling and a kind of tapping noise. I thought it must be windy & got up several times to look out. No wind to speak off. At 3ish I decided I must try and sleep & had just closed my eyes when, phew, it's quite hard to explain. It felt like violent shifting & shaking the lights went off & on, and Pilch woke up and clutched my hand...He never awakes from noise of any sort. It wasn't the noise it was the movement. A shuddering, a grinding & bumping, rattlings. The whole house just wobbled for 20 seconds. I was watching the mirror on the wardrobe and that looked liquid almost. We still up, and on my 2nd cuppa. No sleep tonight.
Wonder what our 400 year old tower will look like when it gets light. Will it still be standing?
Sprat

[noelle]

so sorry to hear that you had such a shock. Heard about it on B.B.C. Hope everyone is safe and well. Pilchard, I really hope your tower is ok in the morning. There is talk of 4 children having died in the quake and that a university dormitory being buried They also say it was 6.3

[pilchard]

We have just come back from the tower. It obviously could have been far worse, but yes it has sustained some damage. I wouldn't let Pilch go inside, so he said he will leave it for a few days & then go in & have a look. From looking around the outside there are signs of damage to the upper part of the tower structure, a bit of damage to the main roof & a general widening of some of the main cracks. One of the vaulted ceilings, the one that was in poor condition has collapsed. The other one cannot be assessed at the moment.
We are so sad to hear of people who have lost their lives. A buildings one thing but lives are quite another.
Pilch

[Violetta]

Gosh, I never realised you guys lived there. I slept through it but my husband felt the bed move even up here in Tuscany. We'll be thinking of you today.

[noelle]

How far were the tremors felt in Abruzzo ? They are saying on the news that they were felt in Rome.

[pilchard]

Well we are about 40km from L'Aquila. Rome about 60-70km.
Sprat

[KarenR]

We were all shaken awake over this close to the coast. We are 77km from L'Aquila. Can only imagine how scary it was for Pilchard and Sprat and obviously all those poor people who lost their loved ones and homes in L'Aquila and Fossa.