Earthquake in Abruzzo, Italy

[SilverMoon28]

This morning, at 3:32 a.m., a 6.3 magnitude earthquake struck the Italian region of Abruzzo in the center of the country.  Hardest hit is the city of L'Aquila, capital of the region.

The toll so far is this:

- Over 150 dead
- 1,500 + injured
- 50,000-70,000 homeless

Just thought you'd like to know.  It's all here: www.cnn.com

Vani

[LilacMajesty]

My prayers go out to the families of the victims.

[anaskee]

2 volcano eruptions and now an earthquake.  I feel bad for the people in Italy.  And the aftershocks are still going on.

I still remember the 1990 earthquake in the Philippines with 7.7 in Richter Scale and 2,000 people dead.  I was only on the second floor but that was terrifying! 

[SilverMoon28]

Oh God... they've just said on CNN that the death toll has reached at least 279 people... 

I guess there's a moral in there somewhere... being that if you live anywhere on a fault line, make sure the buildings are secure... but still...

[anaskee]

It was said that that part of Italy had terrible history when it comes to earthquakes but they (earthquakes) don't happen often, about every couple of hundred years.

[SilverMoon28]

It's not really every couple of hundred years.  I remember when I lived in Rome between 1996 and 1999, we had a few earthquakes.  Nothing bad, just enough to make you know that the earth had been stirred a little.  In 1997, we were in class, literally falling asleep one day and all of a sudden, the building moved and everyone woke up.  And I remember feeling my bed shaking in the middle of the night.

And in 1980, there was a pretty bad earthquake in Rome.  Not fun, let me tell you.  I guess now that the region really will reinforce its buildings.

Vani