Italy earthquake kills over 150

[Furtwangler]

L'AQUILA, Italy – Premier Silvio Berlusconi says more than 150 people have been killed in an earthquake in mountainous central Italy.
Berlusconi also says more than 1,500 people have been injured in the quake, which struck near the medieval town of L'Aquila before dawn Monday.


A powerful earthquake in mountainous central Italy knocked down whole blocks of buildings early Monday as residents slept, killing more than 100 people in the country's deadliest quake in nearly three decades. Tens of thousands were homeless and 1,500 were injured.
Civil protection official Roberto Forina said late Monday that authorities counted more than 100 bodies. But he could not confirm a report by the ANSA news agency that the death toll had reached 150. The Corriere Della Sera newspaper reported more than 250 people were missing.
The quake felled whole blocks of buildings the medieval city of L'Aquila and the surrounding area early Monday as residents slept. It was Italy's deadliest quake in nearly three decades.
...

Over 150 dead, 1,500 injured in Italy quake


The world is ending, etc

[Hyan]

3 years to go, this is just the start...

[altwight]

That's strange. I was reading the token thread and saw someone from italy posting about whether or not he could get it. I hope our Italy users are okay !

[Rammses]

The interesting part is that a seismologist had warned them about an imminent major earthquake - but the mayor of L'Aquila reported him(?) to the police for causing panic, and had his warnings removed from the internet. So Italian.

[Woozie]

The interesting part is that a seismologist had warned them about an imminent major earthquake - but the mayor of L'Aquila reported him(?) to the police for causing panic, and had his warnings removed from the internet. So Italian.

How did the seismologist know that an earthquake was coming? As far as I know, earthquakes are unpredictable, so the seismologist was just lucky. I don't blame the mayor for what he did.

[Woozie]

Also, Darwinism.

[Correction]

How did the seismologist know that an earthquake was coming? As far as I know, earthquakes are unpredictable, so the seismologist was just lucky. I don't blame the mayor for what he did.

The authorities NEVER LISTEN.
http://i41.tinypic.com/2dcefs8.jpg

[Griselda]

BBC NEWS | Europe | Row over Italian quake 'forecast'

Row over Italian quake 'forecast'
By Aidan Lewis
BBC News


A scientist's claim to have forecast an earthquake that killed dozens of people in central Italy has been challenged by authorities and experts.

Italian researcher Giampaolo Giuliani said he had forecast a major quake in the area by measuring emissions of a radioactive gas, radon.

But the head of Italy's civil protection agency dismissed the claim.

Other scientists have also cast doubt on the possibility of predicting earthquakes with any accuracy.

Shortly before Monday's earthquake Mr Giuliani was reported to the authorities for spreading alarm after locals apparently took fright at his warnings.

That was after a group had toured L'Aquila late in March, telling people through megaphones to leave their houses because of an imminent earthquake.


Tremors

After Monday's disaster, Mr Giuliani, a researcher attached to Italy's National Institute of Nuclear Physics, was quoted as saying that he was owed an apology.

"We have been able to predict these kind of events for 10 years," he told the Corriere della Sera newspaper. "Over the last three days we were seeing a sharp increase in quantities of radon, over the level that is safe."

“This method has no better track record than any of the other loved but then abandoned earthquake precursory phenomena ”
Geophysicist Ross Stein on measuring radon to predict earthquakes

But speaking at a news conference on Monday Guido Bertolaso, the head of Italy's civil protection agency, said there was "no possibility of making any predictions on earthquakes".

"This is a fact in the world's scientific community," he said.

Italy's National Institute of Geophysics and Vulcanology said in a statement that "at the current state of knowledge" it was not possible to forecast the location, timing and force of an earthquake.

This was the case even when there were a number of tremors ahead of an earthquake - as there had been in L'Aquila, staring in January - the institute said.

Much current research focuses either on very long-term forecasting of earthquake probability 10 or more years in advance, or on early-warning systems that can detect a major quake just seconds before it happens, according to Ross Stein, a geophysicist at the US Geological Survey in California.

Precursory events including foreshocks, deformation or straining of the ground, or the release of fluids or gasses do not provide detectable patterns through which to make forecasts, he told the BBC.

"You can always find individual cases where one of those phenomena has preceded an earthquake but they're not reliable," he said.

He acknowledged that there was some evidence that trapped gasses had "played a role" in a major earthquake in the Italian region of Umbria in 1997, and that the thinking around radon emissions as an indicator could change with new discoveries. But he added: "Internationally, this method has no better track record than any of the other loved but then abandoned earthquake precursory phenomena."

[thestalkmore]

I remember thoroughly enjoying Dante's Peak when I watched it like 10 years ago

[Eratosthenes]

Many modern structures have failed to hold up to the rigors of quakes along Italy's mountainous spine or in coastal cities like Naples. Despite warnings by geologists and architects, some of these buildings have not been retrofitted for seismic safety.

"The collapses that occurred in Abruzzo involved houses that weren't built to withstand a quake that wasn't particularly violent," said Enzo Boschi, president of the National Institute of Geophysics and Vulcanology.

"We get all worked up after every earthquake, but it's not in our culture to construct buildings the right way in a quake zone, that is, build buildings that can resist (quakes) and retrofit old ones. This has never been done," Boschi said.

Well, there's your problem.

[Milton]

Miraculous rescue as quake toll mounts | World News | News.com.au

98-Year-Old Grandmother Survives 30 Hours Under Rubble; Passed The Time "Doing Crochet"

[EvilSid]

That's strange. I was reading the token thread and saw someone from italy posting about whether or not he could get it. I hope our Italy users are okay !

Here I am. Ty so much for your concern ^^

I live in Calabria, Southern Italy. The earthquake has hitten Abruzzo in Central Italy.

It's "funny" how the most seismological risky area in Italy is right here where I live (there was a stronger earthquake here in 1908, and we face the Etna volcano, which is still active) and not there.

That's why in my town all the buildings must have a maximum of 6 floors and such things.

I suppose that wasn't a quake zone indeed. Not until now

[ErzaScarlet]

Thoughts & Prayers