Huge earthquake strikes Italian heart, page 4

Ummm...check pg 3 of this thread. There's a link there to a current story.

My main point was that with several scientists seemingly able to raise a general warning days or weeks in advance to do general prep, plus the Taiwanese detector able to give a 30-second "here it comes - clear the building / get under your desk / find a doorway" warning, maybe lives CAN be saved by a layered earthquake-warning system.

(but then again, funding has to go to bailouts that ultimately help us borrow for a big screen TV, so investments in this kind of thing is a much lower public policy priority)

reply posted on 6-4-2009 @ 12:05 PM by internos

I will share some of the latest news about the tragedy that hit Abruzzo;

Death toll: over 150

Missing: unknown (only inside a collapsed building in the center of l'Aquila, are believed to be approx. 35 people, whom conditions are unknown)

Injured: more than 1.500

Homeless prediction: between the 50.000 and the 70.000 (some sources report 100.000

)

Between 10.000 and 15.000 buildings heavily damaged or collapsed

The hospital of l'Aquila was damaged in its 90%, its pharmacy collapsed: it has already been evacuated: the people who were hospitalized there, were already moved to other hospitals of Abruzzo, with ambulances and helicopters

Abruzzo's hospitals are able, anyway, to face the emergency

4.000 tents, each one able to host 8/10 people are being erected right now: it's vital that many of them will be ready before sunset

Two camp-kitchen, able each one to produce 5.000 meals have already been set up in L'Aquila.

Italian government already locked hotels for a total of 4.000 places, and declared the "national emergency status".

Rescuers are reported to have arived from Campania, Puglia, Umbria, Emilia Romagna, Lombardia, and more will come from all regions of Italy except the islands

I'll try to share any important updates as they will come.
Two main reasons have been identified to be the co-causes of the hight number of casualities:
1- the very low in depht Hypocenter (esteemed to be approx. 6 miles)
2- the type of buildings in the area: many of them are hundreds years old, but even many of the newest ones showed all their weakness in front of the main shake: actually, watching the reports, you can see many areas in which some houses are undamaged and near to them some other ones that are completely collapsed: the same Earthquake happening, for example, in Japan, would't have damaged anything.

In some small towns around L'Aquila, landslides too are reported.

I'd like to spend some words, now, about the "prediction" related to this earthquake:
first of all, is neccessary to state beforehand that the area around L'Aquila is involved in a so called seismic swarms ( basically a series of shakes very closed each other) , since the half of January, 2008:
Giampaolo Giuliani, the guy who allegedly predicted the Earthquake, is a technical researcher of Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso:
www.lngs.infn.it...
en.wikipedia.org...

YouTube Link

During the interview in question, he states that these seismic swarms are ordinary, but also that this year stronger shakes were recorded, and that even the population could notice them; the journalist (likely coming straight from some pub) asks him if it could have been caused by "climate variations" and at this point the guy enters in details: he reports that a mutation was recorded in the timeline of the last swarm, and that this is strictly related to the leak (underground) of RADON gas (Rn, AN numer 86):
en.wikipedia.org...

Here he confirms that present seismology is unable to predict Earthquakes because using Seismometers (which allow to analyze the event AFTER it happened) and Radometers, (which permit rapid measurements of environmental levels of Radon), and describes the instrument they realized (pay attention because it's all here): he claims that within this gas, using this instrument (which is a gamma detector, btw),

they have found a way to detect a seismic precursor, which would reveal some incoming Earthquake between the six and the 24 hours in advance: he also adds that they are able to know the strenght of the event and its location.
My problem with his prediction is that he MISSED the location and MISSED the date (by 48 hours). If we'd start evacuating Italy using such a margin of error, then Italy would be a permanent desert, because it's all a whole a seismic area from liguria to calabria: all this would be laughable, if it wasn't because i'm too sad for my countrymen, so i don't have the time to lol at clowns right now. Anyway, a communicate just released by the DIRECTOR of laboratori Gran Sasso clarifies that the guy is
A) Unreliable
B) Unrelated to their activity: he's jyust an external co-worker, expert in electronic, that's all.

Italian governments are VERY guilty for not taking seriously the need to build houses using antiseismic criteria. You don't need to be a rocket scientist to understand that on an area carachterized by much seismic activity you must use antiseismic criteria. This criteria should be applied at least to all the new buildings but, as we saw, even relatively new buildings collapsed, entirely, like houses of cards.
Of course, this is harder to be applied to ancient buildings, but some alternative countermeasures can be taken in those cases too: historical building are an important resource for tourism, but if they limit the safety of the people they may become a killer.
A problem of Italy is that whenever it happens something like this, right after the events you hear many nice words by politicians, but after one/two weeks all gets forgotten: this happened systematically, after every tragedy of this type.
But i have to recognize that the gov.t reaction, this time, has been quick and effective, and it has been very nice to know that all european countries offered their support, and countries from all the world expressed their condolences to the relatives of the victims, and thanks to all those who did the same in this thread.

[edit on 6/4/2009 by internos]

reply posted on 6-4-2009 @ 12:15 PM by GenRadek

One thing I have noticed over the years when it comes to seismic and volcanic activity is this:
It seems to come in cycles. I recall reading in books on earthquakes and volcanoes and have noticed that some stretches of years there are very few earthquakes globally (large 6.0+M) and some there is a flurry of violent earthquake activity all over the world. Same with volcanoes. Some years there were many volcanic eruptions that were catostrophic while others were quieter. NO I dont know 100% but this just appears to be another one of those cycles of activity.

I'd have to go back and try and find the numbers, but i do recall that some years or even decades had numerous natural disasters (volcanic, seismic, weather, tsunamis,etc) and others were quieter. Its just that today with the abundance of instant information connecting the world, people can notice these things faster and think something is up.

Its facinating how the whole world is interconnected geologically. I would start to pay attention and see if we have another large quake somewhere on this planet within thenext few weeks. I've noticed that if there is one large quake, at least two more should happen within a month or so.

reply posted on 6-4-2009 @ 12:30 PM by slipkid

Quick idea as to why Earthquakes in Europe strike in April and May.

The Alps is snow covered during the winter. Spring comes, snow melts water washes down into the earth.

Fault lines get disrupted and preasure shifts from one side to another. Eventually something has to go. Think about the foundation of your house and how it would behave if water were underneath it.

Also back to the San Fransico 1906 Earthquake. Liquification occurred under the homes which fell.

reply posted on 6-4-2009 @ 12:41 PM by ziggystar60

reply to post by internos

What happened in your country is terrible, Internos, my heart goes out to all of those who have lost their homes, friends and family members.

Here is the link to Sky TG24 and live coverage of this tragedy. I don't understand Italian, but sometimes images speaks much louder than words...
www.sky.it...

reply posted on 6-4-2009 @ 12:49 PM by huckfinn

I found a Cross in my mother in law's home yesterday so I tore it apart with a couple pair of pliers and through the ruin in the street. I wake up to this news.

I told my wife that a Christian Kingdom would be destroyed as a result of my actions. Here you go.

I am looking for more crosses in my house today. Get these deadbeats out of my pockets.

reply posted on 6-4-2009 @ 01:25 PM by fiddlerontheroof

Alaska's Mount Redoubt has another large eruption
The Associated Press
10:26 PM EDT, April 4, 2009

www.newsday.com...

Originally posted by pluckynoonez
reply to post by rattan1

But the 17th of April is important (I think), the timewave zero was correct about last Spetember, it should be correct this time around

On page 8 of this thread

www.abovetopsecret.com...

The Return of the Ancestors Gathering
Northern Arizona April 18-28, 2009

YouTube Link

I am new here. I thought that these events Volcano and Gathering relate to this thread.
Also i will not be attending the gathering, but now that i see the timewave zero thing and that.. It makes it all the more interesting.

reply posted on 6-4-2009 @ 03:02 PM by badkarma90

Originally posted by pluckynoonez
reply to post by rattan1

If you are saying that then I am, am-am.... That's all I can say here. But the 17th of April is important (I think), the timewave zero was correct about last Spetember, it should be correct this time around

Thats so weird because i had a dream a couple months back and i remember seeing the date 4/16 and feeling scared of something

reply posted on 6-4-2009 @ 06:15 PM by albertfothergill

link

Seemingly this man drove around with a loud haler warning of this impending disaster from his van and was silenced by the PTB. Even the Mayor of the town had him shut up.

This link is the English version to an already Italian link posted earlier.

Hope it works.
Albert

[edit on 6-4-2009 by albertfothergill]

[mod edit: fixed long link]

[edit on 9-4-2009 by 12m8keall2c]

reply posted on 6-4-2009 @ 06:40 PM by pluckynoonez

I counted at least 25 EQ in Italy (Central and North) just today. I know aftershocks are normal, but this seems like a whole lot of shaking to me, being a non-scientist.

www.emsc-csem.org...

reply posted on 6-4-2009 @ 06:42 PM by nomorelies

2009-04-06 23:15:37.7 42.47 N 13.39 E 2 mb 5.1 CENTRAL ITALY

i really hope this ends soon

reply posted on 6-4-2009 @ 08:07 PM by rattan1

Latest from this disaster:

Floodlights are aiding rescuers sifting rubble for signs of life after the devastating Italian earthquake, while thousands face a night in shelters.

At least 150 people are dead, dozens missing, 1,500 injured and some 50,000 homeless after the pre-dawn quake struck L'Aquila and its region.

Emergency crews have reportedly pulled 60 people alive from the rubble. Survivors are being housed in hotels or a tent city which has been erected in the medieval hill city.

A BBC correspondent in L'Aquila says there was a strong aftershock in the city around 2200GMT, which lasted for around two seconds and made the ground feel like jelly. It was the strongest in a number of tremors felt throughout the day. Many houses in L'Aquila have been reduced to piles of rubble, dotted with crushed cars.

Italian rescuers work into night