(Coat of Arms; Amatrice, Italy)
Early this morning (local time) a magnitude 6.1 earthquake hit the Province of Rieti in central Italy.
(Map of Rieti Province of Italy)
The town of Amatrice in the neighboring region of Umbria was especially hard it. The mayor has stated that:
says residents are buried under the debris of collapsed buildings and that “the town isn’t here anymore.”
As with any news of this type, expect the information to form up over the next 24-72 hours.
Adam L Silverman
I’m to bed. You all have a nice night.
Mnemosyne
Stories like these make me REALLY glad that California has very strict building codes. Time to re-check the ol’ earthquake kits.
JGabriel
That sounds like it’s higher than a 6.1. Yes, I’m aware that a 6.1 can do some serious damage, but I’m gonna go out on a short limb here and guess that the measured magnitude will go up as more information comes in.
sigaba
@Mnemosyne: have to renew the victuals and doggie victuals in mine. I suppose I’d better get more water too, the water bottle is 5 years old…
Major Major Major Major
@sigaba: Oh yeah, I should get some of those in mine! Well, the kitty variety.
JCJ
@JGabriel: Probably, but those old stone buildings don’t hold up very well in earthquakes.
Sister Rail Gun of Warm Humanitarianism
@JGabriel:
Really. I saw the initial news go past and didn’t follow up because it was only a 6.1. Didn’t put together “Italy” and “very old and fragile buildings” until now.
I plead being up multiple nights coughing my lungs out.
Mnemosyne
@JGabriel:
As JCJ said, a 6.1 usually isn’t much in California or Japan where the building codes are very strict and every building has to be retrofitted to the latest code. I’m not sure the laws are nearly as strict in Italy.
Leo
Most modern buildings in Italy are built to code and survive this type of earthquake without a scratch. But the country has a lot of historic buildings that are vulnerable.
I was living in the Ferrara region in Northern Italy in 2012 when a 6.1 quake hit there. Almost shook out of my bed when it happened. Most of the buildings that were damaged that night were churches and medieval towers. The castle of Galeazza where I used to go often was completely destroyed. Two friends of mine that were sleeping there had to run for their lives but thankfully got out in time.
Tissue Thin Pseudonym
I’m glad to live in Minneapolis. We may get the occasional huge blizzard, but the only flat out natural disasters we’re at all prone to are tornadoes, and even then I can’t remember the last one that was anywhere close to the city. No hurricanes. No earthquakes. And if the residential areas of the city get flooded, you don’t need insurance; you need an ark.
Raven
@Tissue Thin Pseudonym: Not all that far from New Mardrid!
Sort of
seaboogie
@Tissue Thin Pseudonym: Vintage video of the Fridley MN tornado that took my Grandma’s house. It was decimated, but she bought the house next door that was still standing. Still remember her account of that day.
Very MN commentary….
seaboogie
@seaboogie: Rats – can’t fix it…but giving it another shot, because of the commentary…
And this one worked.
Raven
@seaboogie: my father in law did home movies with similar commentary and corny music but of Virginia.
seaboogie
@Adam L Silverman: Rest well. And also more sad news to contemplate…
seaboogie
@Raven: :-)
Mustang Bobby
My sister has a stepdaughter and family in Florence; I’m waiting calmly to hear from them since they’re well out of the zone of major shaking.
Raven
@Mustang Bobby: what are you doing up?.
Origuy
Loma Prieta (California 1989) was a 6.9. The number is the moment magnitude, which measures the amount of energy released. How and where that energy is released is what affects the damage. USGS has raised this one to 6.2.
Origuy
@seaboogie: That is SO Minnesota!
Raven
@Origuy: My exes dad was from Fergous Falls, he was a great guy with some hilarious pronunciations. He called Miami, Meeamah!
joel hanes
@JGabriel:
a 6.1 can do some serious damage
Ancient un-reinforced masonry is fragile in the shear-stress direction.
Raven
Of course Central Virginia has a definite speech pattern that is almost like “Down East”. House is hoose, our is ere, and things are “right” good!
Raven
@joel hanes: that means it falls down, right?
Chris T.
@Raven: Pretty much, yes.
California is blessed with both earthquakes (which knock down brick structures but wooden ones are fine) and fires (which burn wooden structures but brick ones are fine). The fires are more common, but the earthquakes are worse, since they start fires to help burn down whatever still stands.
(And I live practically on top of the fault line…)
Raven
@Chris T.: My family lives in Hawthorne and Sherman Oaks but when I was a kid in the 50’s we lived in Whittier.
Frankensteinbeck
@Tissue Thin Pseudonym:
I’m much happier in earthquake country than I was in Tornado Alley.
patrick II
@Sister Rail Gun of Warm Humanitarianism:
So, you’re having coughing fits like Hillary — have you met her lately? Was it contagious? If I see you on tv I will be able to diagnose it because I shook hands with a doctor once.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@patrick II: I’m not a doctor, but I did stay in a Holiday Inn Express once; I saw the Trump guy on the 11pm news and his hair is green, that can’t be good.
Keith G
On Twitter, #ItalyEarthquake finds a collection of sources of info and photography. Included there is a link to the Daily Mail which has a large collection of images and fist-hand accounts.
JPL
Here is a link to CNN International It’s pretty grim.
JPL
@Raven: How’d you sleep?
Sister Rail Gun of Warm Humanitarianism
@patrick II: No, but I am a Hugo voter, and Worldcon was this weekend. I’m calling it con crud via the online voting form.
Keith G
@JPL: As I was waiting for the coffee to finish, I used an aerial photo of the damage at Amatrice and Google Street View. Google shows such a pretty little town with folks gathering along storefronts for conversations. Lots of very old brick buildings with masonry facades. On the aerial photo, I noticed one centrally located building that seemed relatively in good shape. Street View showed that it was modern construction.
Mustang Bobby
@Raven: I’m always up at that hour writing on BBWW. Happened across this thread on the earthquake in my gleanings.
How are you?
Schlemazel
@seaboogie:
It was my brothers wedding day, I remember it pretty well. We lived in St. Paul, not all that far from Fridley. There were drifts of hail a couple feet deep on our steps. I have never seen anything close to it since. That whole year was nasty weather-wise. Highest flood waters, several major storms, both with snow and tornadoes in season.
Manyakitty
@Major Major Major Major: Also, get some antibiotic ointment WITHOUT pain reliever. The acetaminophen will destroy their tiny kitty livers.
Ceci n'est pas mon nym
Here’s coverage at La Repubblica for those who read Italian. “At least 38 dead”.
Even if you don’t read Italian, there are some pretty stark photos of the destruction, and some links to other media.
Manyakitty
@seaboogie: My aunt and uncle lived in Fridley for like 35 or 40 years!
JPL
@Keith G: It doesn’t seem like there was much help in stabilizing structures. It’s likely that it is an expensive endeavor to take upon oneself.
Sad!
JPL
@Ceci n’est pas mon nym: Google will translate. Thanks for the link.
sigaba
@Major Major Major Major: Just remember if you put cans of food in a go bag you gotta remember to put a can opener in there too!
catclub
@JCJ: So why have they lasted hundreds of years? It is a mystery, Or perhaps many of those buildings
are not hundreds of years old? But were built pretty badly more recently?