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Italy
Death toll rises to 260, temporary housing in short supply
Article published on the 2009-04-08 Latest update 2009-04-08 13:51 TU
A firefighter working on a destoyed building in L'Aquila on 7 April
(Photo: Reuters)
Aftershocks from Monday’s 6.3 magnitude earthquake in central Italy have made rescue efforts difficult in the Abruzzo region, while the death toll has risen to 260 people as authorities hunt for those still trapped in the rubble.
Those left homeless by the natural disaster struggled to find temporary accommodation on Tuesday night, despite a pledge by Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi that tent camps would be completed in time.
According to some volunteers, many survivors have been staying in their cars since the quake. Meanwhile, some buildings left standing have been deemed unsafe, as large cracks appear in the walls.
260 died in the disaster, including 16 children, but there have been some reports of miraculous survival.
Ninety-eight-year-old Maria D’Antuono was hauled from the rubble after being trapped for 30 hours, whilst a young girl, Eleonora, was rescued after 12 hours, still wearing her pyjamas.
Early estimates suggest that repairs to the 10,000 buildings destroyed in the disaster could cost up to 1.3 billion euros.
The quake was part of tectonic plate movement in the central Appenines mountain belt and the region has suffered other significant earthquakes previously.
In 1997, an earthquake about 85 kilometres from this recent quake, killed 11 and destroyed 80,000 buildings in the Marche and Umbria regions.
This has led some to blame some of the casualties on the poor quality of construction.
“The situation of the town is under evaluation,” said Stefania Pezzopane, President of the L’Aquila province. “We stayed in our homes, transformed into traps."
 Aftershocks rattle quake zone as death toll rises to 260 |
