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Thursday, May 28, 2009
Honduras quake kills 4 children, death toll to rise
A powerful 7.1 magnitude quake struck off Honduras' northeast coast near the scuba-diving resort island of Roatan and damaged buildings across the north of the largely impoverished country of some 7 million people.REUTERS/Graphics
7.1 earthquake topples homes, kills Honduras teen
TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras – A powerful earthquake collapsed more than two dozen homes in Honduras and Belize early Thursday, killing a teenager and injuring two more as terrified people ran into the streets in towns across much of Central America.The magnitude-7.1 quake struck at 2:24 a.m. (4:24 a.m. EDT; 0824 GMT) at the relatively shallow depth of 6 miles (10 kilometers), according to the U.S. Geological Survey in Golden, Colorado. The epicenter was 80 miles (130 kilometers) northeast of La Ceiba, Honduras.
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Aftershock Briefly Delays Search for Italian Quake Survivors
CBC: A 4.9-magnitude aftershock Tuesday briefly halted the frantic search for survivors of an earthquake in central Italy, as officials announced the death toll has reached 207.
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Strong aftershock felt in Rome and L'Aquila
Colored sheets are seen hanging on a clothesline in this aerial view of the village of Onna, a day after a powerful earthquake struck the Abruzzo region in central Italy, on Tuesday, April 7, 2009. The death toll from Italy's worst earthquake in three decades jumped to 207 as bodies were recovered and identified. Fifteen people remained unaccounted for. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)L'AQUILA, Italy-A strong tremor has shaken quake-hit areas of central Italy and sent rescuers and residents fleeing from damaged buildings in L'Aquila.Chunks of concrete dropped from the buildings there and the shock was felt as far away as Rome.Seismologists in Italy and the United States could not immediately assign a magnitude to Tuesday's quake. The APcom news agency said it was between 5.5. and 5.7 on the Richter scale. The quake that struck Monday was 5.8-magnitude.
As in the days of Noah...
Relatives Watch Race to Rescue Italy Quake Survivors; 207 Dead
L'AQUILA, Italy-Relatives of the missing watched agonized Tuesday as rescuers dug desperately by hand for survivors of Italy's devastating earthquake, jarred by a strong aftershock that drove home the continuing danger.The death toll from Italy's worst earthquake in three decades jumped to 207 as bodies were recovered and identified.Lilly Centofanti waited with her mother on the lawn in front of a partially collapsed university dormitory for word of her 19-year-old younger brother, Davide, who lived on the third floor.Centofanti and her mother comforted each other as relatives called the younger woman's cell phone for updates."There's no information,"she kept saying. "We're waiting," she told a reporter."We only know the shocks go on."Rescuers pulled two bodies overnight from the rubble of the four-story dormitory. They ran out, appearing confused, when the 4.9-magnitude aftershock hit at 11:26 a.m.Premier Silvio Berlusconi surveyed the devastated region by helicopter and said the rescue efforts would continue for two more days-after which any of the trapped would have little chance of survival. Fifteeen people were still missing, he said."The rescue efforts will continue for another 48 hours from today until it is certain that there is no one else alive," Berlusconi told reporters.Berlusconi said that at least 100 of the roughly 1,000 injured people were in serious condition. As many as four students could still be inside the dormitory in L'Aquila-a central Italian city of Romanesque, Gothic, Baroque and Renaissance architectural treasures, Berlusconi said.A series of aftershocks have hit of L'Aquila and 26 surrounding towns and cities in the snowcapped Apennine mountains since the quake early Monday, which also left tens of thousands homeless. Tuesday's aftershock appeared strongest around L'Aquila, a city of some 70,000 people.To read more go to:
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,512916,00.html
As in the days of Noah...
Berlusconi pledges to re-house victims as quake toll hits 207
L'AQUILA, Italy-Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi on Tuesday pledged to build a new town to house the thousands of people left homeless by Monday's deadly earthquake in the country's Abruzzo region.Berlusconi told a news conference that the death toll from Italy's worst quake in decades had climbed to 207, as rescuers continued to pull bodies from the rubble in the medieval city of L'Aquila, about 120 km (75 miles) northeast of Rome.Fifteen people remain missing, Berlusconi added.Doctors were also tending to an estimated 1,500 injured residents at two field hospitals, after the main hospital had been hit by the 6.3-magnitude quake.Officials urged residents to keep away from their homes as aftershocks continued. Thousands have sought shelter in tents. Others slept in cars or relatives' homes.Many survivors stood watch, gripping one another, as they watched rescuers feverishly comb through the remains of crumbled buildings.With thousands of people forced from their homes in the area, the Italian premier announced that a special fund would be set up to help victims rebuild their lives."The government has a task to be close to all those citizens who have found themselves in a very difficult situation due to the earthquake, the disaster, and of course also due to the financial crisis," Berlusconi told reporters.Citizens can book a place in the new town, Berlusconi said. A study is "well under way" into plans for the town, he said.The government will provide funds but private individuals will also have to contribute, he said. The government will set up a special fund in banks to allow for low-cost mortgages for homebuyers in the new town, he said."It will be very important, and we will collect together all the necessary money and funds as soon as possible to rebuild, once we overcome any bureaucratic paperwork and issues," Berlusconi said. "Building will be carried out as soon as possible-fast."Meanwhile, 4,000 people were working on the rescue effort Tuesday. Civil defense officials said they are prepared to house up to 30,000 people, but many of those displaced have gone to hotels.Monday's earthquake was about 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) deep, the U.S. Geological Survey said.About 10:20 p.m. (8:20 p.m. GMT) Sunday, a 4.6-magnitude earthquake hit northern Italy, about 55 km (35 miles) southeast of Bologna, the agency said. That earthquake's depth was 6.4 km (4 miles). The quake is the deadliest to strike Italy in decades, and the first major temblor to strike the country in almost seven years. Joshua Brothers, an American missionary, told CNN that the quake "sounded as if a 747 (jet) was actually coming in to land.""That was the first thing that was on my mind," he said.The quake left stone buildings in heaps, with rubble spilling over parked cars and into alleyways. Frightened residents rushed into the streets, many of them bringing luggage with them, Brothers said."If you look along the way, there are many palazzi that are cracked, walls have fallen in on some of them," he said.L'Aquila's hospital was damaged as well, forcing doctors to evacuate the most seriously hurt. Agostino Miozzo, the director-general of Italy's Civil Protection agency, called it "a disaster on a huge scale."As in the days of Noah....
4.9-Magnitude Aftershock Hits Devastated Italy
L'AQUILA, Italy-A strong aftershock has hit the central Italian region where rescuers are searching for survivors of the country's deadliest earthquake in nearly three decades.The 4.9-magnitude aftershock sent rescue workers and survivors scrambling.They had been working frantically in this central Italian city early Tuesday, scooping through piles of rubble with their hands.Tens of thousands of people left homeless by the powerful 6.3-magnitude quake early Monday slept in makeshift tents that provided little protection against the chilly mountain air. Scores of survivors lined up for a hot cup of coffee or tea and a brioche.http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,512936,00.html
As in the days of Noah....
Italian Firefighters Dig for 4 Students Trapped in Quake-Hit Dorm
April 7: Firefighters carry out a body from the rubble of a collapsed building, in L'Aquila, central Italy.(AP)L'AQUILA, Italy-Firefighters say they have located four students trapped in a dormitory that crumbled in Italy's devastating earthquake but did not say if they were alive or dead.Chief firefighter Sergio Basti says rescue crews are evacuating the area around the dorm because they plan to begin "surgically" removing big chunks of the building to reach the four students.Asked if the students were alive, Basti said only that in his experience he had found people alive after 14 days.He said Tuesday that rescue crews needed to "lighten" the building to reach the four since they are in a hard-to-reach spot. Several dozen rescue crews are at the scene of the collapsed building.Relatives of the missing watched agonized as rescuers dug desperately by hand for survivors, jarred by a strong aftershock that drove home the continuing danger.The death toll from Italy's worst earthquake in three decades jumped to 207 as bodies were recovered and identified.Lilly Centofanti waited with her mother on the lawn in front of a partially collapsed university dormitory for word of her 19-year-old younger brother, Davide, who lived on the third floor.Centofanti and her mother comforted each other as relatives called the younger woman's cell phone for updates."There's no information," she kept saying."We're waiting," she told a reporter."We only know the shocks go on."Premier Silvio Berlusconi surveyed the devastated region by helicopter and said the rescue efforts would continue for two more days-after which any of the trapped would have little chance of survival. Fifteeen people were still missing, he said."The rescue efforts will continue for another 48 hours from today until it is certain that there is no one else alive," Berlusconi told reporters.Berlusconi said that at least 100 of the roughly 1,000 injured people were in serious condition. As many as four students could still be inside the dormitory in L'Aquila — a central Italian city of Romanesque, Gothic, Baroque and Renaissance architectural treasures, Berlusconi said.A series of aftershocks have hit of L'Aquila and 26 surrounding towns and cities in the snowcapped Apennine mountains since the quake early Monday, which also left tens of thousands homeless. Tuesday's aftershock appeared strongest around L'Aquila, a city of some 70,000 people.Two buildings in Pettino, a suburb of L'Aquila, collapsed following the aftershock, the news agency ANSA reported, citing fire officials. No one was believed to be inside either building.The ground shook in the nearly leveled town of Onna, about six miles away, but caused no panic.Rescuers were still trying to reach more isolated hamlets on Tuesday.Officials said some 10,000 to 15,000 buildings were either damaged or destroyed, and at least 50,000 people were left homeless. In Onna, 38 people out of some 300 inhabitants were dead, rescue officials said.While the elderly, children and pregnant women were given priority at tent camps in the area, others were sleeping in cars or making their own arrangements to stay with relatives or in second homes out of the quake zone.Six months pregnant, Sandra Padil spent the night in a tent without any covers in the chill mountain air as the temperatures dipped to 43 degrees."We are calmer out in the open," said Padil, a 32-year-old Peruvian who has been living in L'Aquila since 1996. "We didn't have blankets and it was cold, but at least this morning they gave us breakfast. Let's hope this ends quickly."Some elderly people appeared to be disoriented as they walked among the tents, and people tending them complained about the lack of blankets.Mounting piles of rubble contained evidence of shattered lives: torn clothing, ripped stuffed animals and broken furniture.The U.S. Geological Survey said the main quake — which struck just after 3:30 a.m. Monday as most people slept — was magnitude 6.3 on the so-called "moment scale," but Italy's National Institute of Geophysics, using the Richter scale, put it at 5.8.Rescue workers arrived from throughout Italy, from as far away as Venice and Genoa. Part of L'Aquila's main hospital was evacuated for fear of collapse, and few operating rooms were in use. Bloodied victims waited in hospital hallways or in the courtyard and many were being treated in the open.Law enforcement placed cordons around the areas hardest hit by the quake to prevent looting, including the center of L'Aquila and the towns of Paganica and Onna, Capt. Ivan Centomani of Italy's financial police told Sky Italia TV from L'Aquila.Italy's national police chief, Antonio Manganelli, said several people had been arrested for looting from abandoned houses.The quake took a severe toll on L'Aquila's prized architectural heritage. Many Romanesque, Gothic, Baroque and Renaissance landmarks were damaged, including part of the red-and-white stone basilica of Santa Maria di Collemaggio.The bell tower of the 16th-century San Bernardino church and the cupola of the Baroque Sant'Agostino church also fell, the Culture Ministry said. Stones tumbled down from the city's cathedral, which was rebuilt after a 1703 earthquake.Damage to monuments was reported as far away as Rome, where cracks appeared at the thermal baths built in the 3rd century by the emperor Caracalla, Culture Ministry official Giuseppe Proietti said.Berlusconi declared a state of emergency, freeing up millions in euros to deal with the disaster, and canceled a visit to Russia so he could deal with the crisis.Condolences poured in from around the world, including from President Barack Obama, Pope Benedict XVI and Abdullah Gul, president of quake-prone Turkey.It was Italy's deadliest quake since Nov. 23, 1980, when a 6.9-magnitude quake hit southern regions, leveling villages and causing some 3,000 deaths.The last major quake to hit central Italy was a 5.4-magnitude temblor that struck the south-central Molise region on Oct. 31, 2002, killing 28 people, of which 27 were children who died when their school collapsed.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,513003,00.html
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,513003,00.html
As in the days of Noah...
Monday, April 6, 2009
Powerful quake shakes Russian-held island:USGS
A powerful quake of magnitude 7.0 struck near the Kuril Islands,an archipelago in the North Pacific disputed between Russia and Japan,US seismologists said.There was "no destructive widespread tsunami threat" but local tsunamis could threaten coastlines within 100 kilometres (60 miles) of the quake's epicentre, the Hawaii-based Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said.Russian seismologists put the magnitude of the quake at 6.8, according to RIA Novosti news agency, which said it happened near an unhabited island.The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center also put the magnitude at 6.8.The quake hit 295 kilometres (180 miles) northeast of the town of Kurilsk at a depth of 39.1 kilometres (24.3 miles) at 0423 GMT, the National Earthquake Information Center of the US Geological Survey said on its website.The Kuril Islands, which are the subject of a territorial dispute between Moscow and Tokyo dating back to World War II,are seismically active and the site of frequent earthquakes.http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=CNG.f2327b37912e033fe9381f4607bac5a5.1e1&show_article=1&catnum=0
As in the days of Noah...
7.0 Mw - KURIL ISLANDS
Preliminary Earthquake ReportMagnitude
7.0 Mw
Date-Time
7 Apr 2009 04:23:34 UTC
7 Apr 2009 16:23:34 near epicenter
6 Apr 2009 22:23:34 standard time in your timezone
Location
46.141N 151.420E
Depth
39 km
Distances
293 km (182 miles) ENE (69 degrees) of Kuril'sk, Kuril Islands
658 km (409 miles) NE (55 degrees) of Kushiro, Hokkaido, Japan
1519 km (944 miles) NE (36 degrees) of TOKYO, Japan
Location Uncertainty
Horizontal: 9.3 km; Vertical 13.8 km
Parameters
Nph = 166; Dmin = 730.3 km; Rmss = 0.70 seconds; Gp = 50°M-type = Mw; Version = 6
Event ID
US 2009fdak ***This event supersedes event PT09097001.
For updates, maps, and technical information, see: Event Page or U.S.G.S. Earthquake Hazards Program
National Earthquake Information CenterU.S. Geological Survey
As in the days of Noah...
"IT WAS LIKE THE END OF THE WORLD": More than 150 dead,Silvio Berlusconi confirms
More than 5,000 rescue workers continued the search for survivors into a second night after the 6.3 magnitude quake hit the Abruzzo region at 3.32am on Monday.After working in heavy rain during the day, the rescuers scoured collapsed buildings in the medieval town of L'Aquila, the regional capital at the epicentre of the earthquake. Emergency services said 60 people had been pulled alive from the rubble.Up to 50,000 people have been left homeless in the town, around 60 miles north-east of Rome, and in the surrounding villages, with up to 15,000 buildings destroyed or damaged beyond repair.Mr Berlusconi declared a state of emergency in the region and cancelled a trip to Russia in order to visit L'Aquila.He said 30 million euros (£27m) had been earmarked to help the region.World leaders from Barack Obama, the US president and Dmitry Medvedev, his Russian counterpart, expressed their sympathy to the victims and their families.The earthquake took a severe toll on the region's architectural heritage. L'Aquila was built as a mountain stronghold during the Middle Ages and has many Romanesque, Gothic and Renaissance buildings.Italy's national police chief Antonio Manganelli said several people had been arrested for looting. Thousands of hotel rooms in the area were requisitioned to provide shelter for those who have been displaced.Mr Berlusconi also called together the country's leading seismologists to advise on whether more major shocks could follow.John McCloskey, a professor of geophysics at the University of Ulster, Northern Ireland, said: "Earthquakes like this frequently trigger other earthquakes in the region. After the Umbria and Marche earthquakes in Italy in 1997 there was a sequence of eight events higher than magnitude five in the following two months."Roger Musson of the British Geological Survey in Edinburgh said the Apennine mountains were a hotspot for large earthquakes, and an event of this magnitude "is not really a surprise".In the last century, five big earthquakes on or around the spine of Italy have claimed around 34,000 lives. Monday's event was the third major 'quake in less than 12 years in a radius of just 90 miles.Gianfranco Fini, speaker of Italy's lower house of parliament, said: "Some towns in the area have been virtually destroyed in their entirety."Civil protection department officials said the damage extended to 26 cities and towns.By Nick Squires in L'Aquila and Gordon Rayner
As in the days of Noah....
Israelis Missing in Earthquake
Two Israeli citizens are missing on Monday after a massive earthquake ripped through central Italy, killing at least 92 and destroying thousands of homes.Both Foreign Affairs Minister Avigdor Lieberman and the Magen David Adom emergency medical services offered their assistance to Italian authorities.The earthquake, which measured 6.3 on the Richter scale, struck at 3:30 a.m. local time in the central Italian region of Abruzzo, a scenic area popular with tourists. The medieval town L'Aquila, which is located near the epicenter of the quake, was struck the hardest. At least 92 people were killed in the initial tremor, but the death toll is expected to rise as rescue forces search through the rubble. Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi declared a state of emergency in the area. Thousands of structures collapsed and rescuers are digging frantically in an effort to locate survivors.The Israeli Foreign Affairs Ministry was initially concerned for four Israelis who were in the area at the time. Three of the missing were part of a group of 100 Israeli students who studied in the area.Two later contacted family and friends. The other two remain missing.Fears for one Israeli man's life grew after rescue workers reported that his house had collapsed. Foreign Affairs Minister Avigdor Lieberman and Magen David Adom both offered Italian authorities any and all assistance in rescue efforts. The Italians thanked the Israelis for the offer, but said that in the meantime they are dealing with the tragedy alone. by Yehudah Lev Kay
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/
As in the days of Noah...
US gives U$S 50,000 for quake-hit Italy...
The United States said Monday it would donate 50,000 dollars in emergency aid to Italy after a powerful earthquake killed at least 100 people. "We send our heartfelt condolences to the families of those killed in the earthquake. Our embassy in Rome will provide 50,000 (dollars) in emergency relief funding," State Department spokesman Robert Wood told reporters.Italian authorities told the United States they did not need rescue teams, Wood said. President Barack Obama earlier offered his condolences on a visit to Turkey and voiced hope that the United States could send rescuers.The earthquake killed at least 100 people and injured 1,500 more as it reduced medieval buildings to rubble in the central town of L'Aquila.Wood said there were no reports of US citizens among the dead or injured but that the US embassy in Rome was reaching out to Americans living in the region.http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=CNG.15148f36e80f2222604c174cd120fa19.381&show_article=1
PS:I'm sorry but just 50000 bucks...?when we are wasting millions in other things and groups that dont deserve it as much as the people of Italy that all of the sudden got hit by this deadly quake...?I wonder if Berlusconi is that happy with Obama after this....A total shame coming from BHO administration...embarassing the US again...
As in the days of Noah...
Sixty pulled alive from Italy quake rubble: firefighters
Rescuers pulled a total 60 survivors from collapsed buildings in central Italy in the wake of Monday's powerful pre-dawn earthquake, firefighters said.As in the days of Noah...
Italy quake damages old churches,Roman baths
ROME-The earthquake in central Italy on Monday has badly damaged several historic churches and other heritage sites, the Culture Ministry said.At least four Romanesque and Renaissance churches and a 16th century castle were partially destroyed by the quake centered in the medieval city of L'Aquila, the ministry said.Part of the nave of the Basilica of Santa Maria di Collemaggio, one of the area's most famous churches, collapsed.The church, with a pink-and-white facade combining Romanesque and Gothic architecture, hosted the crowning of Pope Celestine V in 1294 and attracts thousands of pilgrims every year.To the north, the belltower of the lavish Renaissance Basilica of San Bernardino also crumbled.The mountain city of L'Aquila has a history of powerful earthquakes, and was almost wiped out by one in 1703.Monday's quake, which killed scores of people, was so powerful that its effects were felt in the capital Rome, 100 km (60 miles) to the west.The city's superintendent for archaeology said the Baths of Caracalla-the Roman public baths built between AD 212 and 216 and a popular tourist attraction-had suffered some damage.(Reporting by Silvia Aloisi; Editing by Angus MacSwan)http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSTRE5353E720090406
As in the days of Noah...
Dazed survivors hunt for kin in Italian quake town
L'AQUILA, Italy-Desperate for help in digging out his 60-year-old mother from under a heap of mangled metal and concrete, Tancredi Vicentini ran after local firemen down a rubble-strewn street in L'Aquila pleading for help.A few firemen clambered up on top of the rubble and began picking up pieces with their hands, but the digging ended as abruptly as it started."Those in there are dead for sure," one fireman said before moving on to another crumbling house nearby, Vicentini said."They left saying they had worse things to attend to," said the 33-year-old, one of several locals left staring helplessly at the little left of their houses and relatives trapped inside."They said they needed bulldozers, and it would have been dangerous to dig in these conditions."Vicentini himself is lucky to be alive. When the 6.3 magnitude earthquake hit L'Aquila just after 3:32 am (10:30 p.m. EST), he and his girlfriend escaped from their once pretty cream-colored house by jumping out of the window.They tried to reach his mother sleeping in a nearby room, but falling pieces of the apartment above blocked their way."It all happened so quickly, there was so much dust in the air and you could barely breathe or see anything," he said, his trousers marked with bloodstains and his hands bruised.Earlier in the morning, with firemen and police rushing to free students trapped inside a university residence and others buried under the rubble of large buildings, some residents used ladders to peek into the windows of tiny houses in narrow streets where the elderly or children may have been trapped.Near the town square, a handful of police and firemen spent an anguished half hour trying to discover whether the plaintive cries of what appeared to be a baby came from a yellow building showing a giant crack, or from an adjacent set of houses.The cries were eventually traced to a trapped woman and firemen were hoisted in to rescue her.A few blocks away on a street strewn with fallen brick, glass and shards of metal, 32-year old Marina Costantini huddled under blankets with relatives as firemen climbed into a house searching for her aunt trapped inside."I don't think there's any hope for her now, she didn't come out when we all did and we haven't seen or heard from her since," Costantini said, recounting how parts of her bedroom ceiling collapsed as she frantically rushed out after the quake.Further down the road, Camillo Berardi watched as firemen and police painstakingly sifted through pieces of a four-storey building that had been reduced to rubble, with its red roof sloping down over the heap at an angle.Berardi had come down to look for help after running up to his father's house to find the interiors had caved in and no sign of his father anywhere."My father is surely dead," he said.Another woman watching rescuers wailed that her sister was inside the ruins of the collapsed building, her cries growing louder when the sole survivor pulled out feet-first from the rubble was not her sister.As repeated aftershocks hampered firefighters' efforts, she cried out:"Enough, God! Enough! Enough of these earthquakes!"By Deepa Babington
http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUKTRE53528G20090406
As in the days of Noah...
Complex Geology Behind Italian Earthquake
The 6.3 magnitude earthquake that struck central Italy in the wee hours of Monday morning has a complicated geological story behind it.The epicenter of the quake, which struck at 3:32 a.m. local time (9:30 p.m., April 5 EDT), was near the medieval city of L'Aquila, about 70 miles (110 kilometers) northeast of Rome.The temblor has killed more than 70 people so far, according to news reports, and left 1,500 injured and thousands homeless.It marks the country's deadliest earthquake in three decades.The earthquake was the result of faulting that runs northwest-southeast through the central Apennines, a mountain belt that extends from the Gulf of Taranto in the south to the southern edge of the Po basin in northern Italy.Several tectonic processes are active in the region: The Adrian micro-plate is being subducted under the Apennines from east to west, while at the same time continental collision is occurring between the Eurasian and African plates (responsible for the building of the Alps)."This is a really complex region," said Stuart Sipkin, a seismologist with the United States Geological Survey (USGS).This isn't the first major earthquake the region has seen in recent years; in 1997, a 6.0 magnitude quake struck about 53 miles (85 km) north-northwest of the L'Aquila event, killing 11, injuring more 100 and destroying about 80,000 homes in the Marche and Umbria regions, according to the USGS.A couple of earthquakes came about three and five hours before today's Italian temblor-such foreshocks are not particularly unusual."We certainly see foreshocks," Sipkin told LiveScience. "It's not real common, but it's not uncommon either."But while they've been observed before, they're "not a good indicator that a big earthquake is coming," Sipkin said.There has been only one documented instance where they were used to successfully predict a major earthquake-in China in the 1970s-and that was a circumstance where foreshocks were steadily increasing in severity and frequency.The foreshocks in the L'Aquila quake didn't look any different than the "background seismicity" of the region, Sipkin said.Sipkin said that it's likely that the most damaged buildings were the older ones, but added that how much damage a quake does can depend on how close it occurs to where people live.A wall of the 13th-century Santa Maria di Collemaggio church collapsed and the bell tower of the Renaissance San Bernadino church also fell in the city's historic center, according to the Associated Press.By Andrea Thompson
As in the days of Noah...
TIMELINE:Major quakes in Italy in the last 100 years
A powerful earthquake struck a swath of central Italy as residents slept on Monday morning, killing more than 90 people and flattening whole towns.Following is a list of major earthquakes in Italy over the past century:Sept 8, 1905 - Some 5,000 people are killed when a 7.9 magnitude earthquake tore through the Calabria region, obliterating 25 villages.
Dec 28, 1908 - Over 82,000 people are killed in a 7.2 magnitude earthquake which reduced Messina, Sicily's second town, to rubble. A tidal wave followed causing more devastation.
Jan 13, 1915 - Some 32,600 are killed when an earthquake measuring 7.0 struck Avezzano in central Italy.
July 27, 1930 - A quake measuring 6.5 strikes the region of Irpinia in southern Italy, killing around 1,400 people.
May 6, 1976 - An earthquake measuring 6.5 rocks Friuli in Italy's northeastern corner, killing 976 people and leaving 70,000 others homeless.
November 23, 1980 - Some 2,735 people are killed and more than 7,500 injured in an earthquake measuring 6.5. The epicenter was at Eboli but damage was reported over a huge area toward Naples.
December 13, 1990 - Earthquake centered in the sea off Sicily kills 13 people and injures 200.
September 26, 1997 - Two earthquakes measuring 6.4 kill 11 people and cause serious damage to the Basilica of St Francis in Assisi, ruining priceless Medieval frescoes. A further quake measuring 5.1 hits Umbria days later causing damage.
July 17, 2001 - Earthquake measuring 5.2 on the Richter scale shakes the northern Italian region of Alto Adige, killing one woman.
September 6, 2002 - An earthquake measuring 6.0 strikes Sicily. Two people died from heart attacks triggered by the earthquake which also damaged artistic treasures.
October 31, 2002 - An earthquake measuring 5.9 hits Campobasso, south-central Italy, killing 30 people, most of them children, in San Giuliano di Puglia.
April 11, 2003 - An earthquake measuring 4.6 rocks northern Italy, rattling buildings from Milan to Turin and prompting officials to evacuate some schools.
April 6, 2009 - A powerful earthquake strikes central Italy, killing at least 92 people. Civil Protection Department officials said up to 50,000 people may be homeless in some 26 cities and towns. More than 1,500 people were injured as thousands of houses, churches and buildings collapsed.
The quake was centered in the Abruzzo region east of Rome. The dead were mainly in L'Aquila, a 13th century city about 100 km (60 miles) east of Rome with a population of 68,000.
Sources Reuters/USGS website
http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSTRE5351OO20090406
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