Earthquake Shocks Central Italy
August 26, 2016
Two days ago, on August 24, a 6.2-magnitude earthquake shook the mountains of central Italy. The earthquake struck in the early morning, toppling homes and buildings in the region of Latium (often called Lazio) and causing damage in nearby Marche (or Marches) and Umbria as well. The earthquake killed 278 people and several people remain missing. About 400 people were injured. The mountain towns hit by the quake are popular with tourists, and many of the dead were travelers staying in hotels and hostels. Because many of the missing people are not residents, authorities are not sure how many people may yet be found buried in the devastation.
Survivors and rescue workers begin searching the ruins of Amatrice, Italy, after an earthquake struck on Aug. 24, 2016. Credit: © Antonio Nardelli, Shutterstock
The earthquake struck at 3:36 a.m. local time and centered near the mountain village of Amatrice, about 85 miles (140 kilometers) east of Rome, the Italian capital. The quake reduced much of the town to ruins, including several historic buildings dating from the 1400’s. The majority of the earthquake victims were in Amatrice, but scores died in such nearby villages as Accumoli, Arquata del Tronto, and Pescara del Tronto. The earthquake woke startled residents in Rome, and was felt as far away as Bologna to the north and Naples to the south. In the first 12 hours after the initial quake, the region trembled through some 150 aftershocks, the strongest of which measured 5.5 on the Richter scale. Survivors stumbled about the destruction, helping those who could be reached, and huddled in vehicles and tents as rescue workers arrived on the scene. Helicopters carried rescue workers to the area’s more isolated villages to retrieve survivors trapped by landslides and rubble.
This map shows the location of the earthquake that devastated Amatrice and other mountain towns in central Italy on Aug. 24, 2016. Credit: WORLD BOOK map
Amatrice has a population of about 2,000 people, but that number swells many times during the summer tourist season. Last year, Amatrice was voted one of Italy’s most beautiful historic towns, and the town’s popular spaghetti festival was scheduled for this weekend. Amatrice’s heartbroken mayor, Sergio Pirozzi, surveyed the destruction, saying, “The town is no more.”
Wednesday’s earthquake was the worst in Italy since 2009 when 308 people died in a powerful quake just south of Amatrice in the region of Abruzzo. That earthquake destroyed parts of the medieval city of L’Aquila. Italy sits on a major fault line, making it one of the most seismically active areas of Europe.
