Major Earthquake Devastates Central Italy
Reuters搜救队员在废墟中抬出一名遇难者遗体周一凌晨，意大利中部中世纪古城拉奎拉发生强烈地震，至少造成150人死亡，数万人无家可归，很多代表了该城丰富文化遗产有着数百年历史的纪念性建筑被毁。在救援队在断瓦残垣扭曲的钢支撑结构和破损的家具间搜救幸存者之际，很多人提出这样一个问题：人员的伤亡是否本来可以避免。拉奎拉周边地区的震感早已持续了数周之久。搜救人员工作到深夜，试图将6名大学生从坍塌的宿舍废墟下救出来。现场工作人员不敢肯定这6名学生是否依然活着。拉奎拉省省长Stefania Pezzopane在接受电视采访时说，我们被告知不要害怕，不要担心；但事实上，我们或许应该多担心一些才对。意大利政府迅速打消了有关这次地震本来可以预测到的说法。地震还波及到了周边数个小城，导致1,500多人受伤。意大利总理贝鲁斯科尼(Silvio Berlusconi)取消了预定对莫斯科的访问，地震后几个小时就乘直升机飞往了拉奎拉。他在新闻发布会上说，没有科学的数据可以用来预测地震。意大利民防局说，上个月底它组织了一个专家组，调查当地一位科学家提出的即将发生大地震的说法，不过结论是这个地区的地震活动没什么特别。贝鲁斯科尼在拉奎拉附近小城Coppito警方营地召开的新闻发布会上说，救援人员已经进入所有的地区开展搜救工作了。此次6.3级的地震非常强烈，拉奎拉以西约60英里远的罗马很多人都有震感。这是近30年来意大利发生的死亡人数最多的一次地震。官员们说，死亡人数可能还会上升。警方估计，地震造成1.5万座建筑倒塌或毁坏，约10万人无家可归。现年62岁的帕波拉(Giovanna Papola)说，所有的东西都在往下掉，家具盘子。她看着自己的丈夫和儿子把老母亲的遗体从一座倒塌房子的废墟中拖出来。意大利有着很长的地震史。2002年，意大利南部莫利塞的一所学校在地震中倒塌，27名学生和他们的一位老师遇难。近年来意大利发生的最严重的地震是1980年11月在南部伊尔皮尼亚的地震，当时有近3,000人遇难，数千人好几年没有合适的住所。分析师说，意大利的很多建筑在地震中尤其容易受损，原因是与美国和日本城市的建筑不同，意大利的建筑常常有着数百年的历史。很多情况下，建筑物没有用现代技术进行过加固来增强它们的抗震性能。意大利政府支起了大约1,000顶帐篷，足够12,000人使用，并订下了当地旅馆的约4,000个床位。周边的城镇也有严重损毁。官员们说，奥纳是受灾最严重的地区之一，城里一半的建筑都坍塌了。Stacy Meichtry / Davide Berretta
A powerful earthquake shook this medieval town in central Italy early Monday morning, killing at least 150 people, leaving tens of thousands without a home and damaging many of the centuries-old monuments that make up the city's rich cultural heritage.As rescue teams sifted through fallen walls, twisted steel supports and broken furniture to search for survivors, many asked whether the human toll could have been avoided. Tremors had been felt in around L'Aquila for several weeks. Crews worked late into the night trying to free six college students from beneath the rubble of their collapsed dormitory. Workers on the scene weren't sure whether any of the six were still alive.'We were told not to be afraid and not to worry,' Stefania Pezzopane, president of the L'Aquila province, said in a television interview. 'Maybe instead we should have worried more.'The Italian government was quick to dispel any suggestion that the earthquake, which also hit several small neighboring towns and left more than 1,500 injured, could have been predicted. Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who canceled a planned trip to Moscow and flew to L'Aquila by helicopter hours after the quake struck, said during a news conference that there were no 'scientific data' that could be used to predict quakes.Italy's Civil Protection Agency said it had convened a body of experts late last month to look into a local scientist's claims that a big earthquake was near, but had determined that the tremors in the region were 'typical.''There is not one single area in which rescue workers are not already working,' added Mr. Berlusconi at the news conference, held at a police barracks in Coppito, a small town near L'Aquila.The 6.3 magnitude quake -- the most devastating in terms of lives lost in nearly three decades in Italy -- was strong enough that many felt it in Rome, which is about 60 miles to the west of L'Aquila. Officials said the death toll could rise. Police estimated that 15,000 buildings had collapsed or been damaged and that some 100,000 people had been left homeless.'Everything was falling. Furniture, dishes,' said Giovanna Papola, 62 years old, who watched as her husband and son pulled her mother's body out of the ruins of a crumbled house.Italy has a long history of earthquakes. In 2002, a school in Molise, in southern Italy, collapsed during a tremor, killing 27 children and their teacher. The worst Italian earthquake in recent memory was in Irpinia, also in the south, in November 1980, where nearly 3,000 people were killed and thousands were left without a proper home for years.Analysts say many buildings in Italy are particularly vulnerable to tremors because, unlike those in cities of the U.S. and Japan, they often date back hundreds of years. In many cases, constructions haven't been retrofitted with modern technology that would make them sturdier when quakes hit.Officials were setting up some 1,000 tents, enough to host 12,000 people, and some 4,000 beds had been booked in local hotels. There was serious damage to many surrounding towns as well. Onna was one of the hardest-hit, with half the town destroyed, officials said.Stacy Meichtry / Davide Berretta
A powerful earthquake shook this medieval town in central Italy early Monday morning, killing at least 150 people, leaving tens of thousands without a home and damaging many of the centuries-old monuments that make up the city's rich cultural heritage.As rescue teams sifted through fallen walls, twisted steel supports and broken furniture to search for survivors, many asked whether the human toll could have been avoided. Tremors had been felt in around L'Aquila for several weeks. Crews worked late into the night trying to free six college students from beneath the rubble of their collapsed dormitory. Workers on the scene weren't sure whether any of the six were still alive.'We were told not to be afraid and not to worry,' Stefania Pezzopane, president of the L'Aquila province, said in a television interview. 'Maybe instead we should have worried more.'The Italian government was quick to dispel any suggestion that the earthquake, which also hit several small neighboring towns and left more than 1,500 injured, could have been predicted. Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who canceled a planned trip to Moscow and flew to L'Aquila by helicopter hours after the quake struck, said during a news conference that there were no 'scientific data' that could be used to predict quakes.Italy's Civil Protection Agency said it had convened a body of experts late last month to look into a local scientist's claims that a big earthquake was near, but had determined that the tremors in the region were 'typical.''There is not one single area in which rescue workers are not already working,' added Mr. Berlusconi at the news conference, held at a police barracks in Coppito, a small town near L'Aquila.The 6.3 magnitude quake -- the most devastating in terms of lives lost in nearly three decades in Italy -- was strong enough that many felt it in Rome, which is about 60 miles to the west of L'Aquila. Officials said the death toll could rise. Police estimated that 15,000 buildings had collapsed or been damaged and that some 100,000 people had been left homeless.'Everything was falling. Furniture, dishes,' said Giovanna Papola, 62 years old, who watched as her husband and son pulled her mother's body out of the ruins of a crumbled house.Italy has a long history of earthquakes. In 2002, a school in Molise, in southern Italy, collapsed during a tremor, killing 27 children and their teacher. The worst Italian earthquake in recent memory was in Irpinia, also in the south, in November 1980, where nearly 3,000 people were killed and thousands were left without a proper home for years.Analysts say many buildings in Italy are particularly vulnerable to tremors because, unlike those in cities of the U.S. and Japan, they often date back hundreds of years. In many cases, constructions haven't been retrofitted with modern technology that would make them sturdier when quakes hit.Officials were setting up some 1,000 tents, enough to host 12,000 people, and some 4,000 beds had been booked in local hotels. There was serious damage to many surrounding towns as well. Onna was one of the hardest-hit, with half the town destroyed, officials said.Stacy Meichtry / Davide Berretta