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Italy earthquake kills at least 15 Italy earthquake kills at least 15
(about 7 hours later)
A 5.8-magnitude earthquake shook a large swath of northern Italy on Tuesday morning, killing at least 15 people and bringing down buildings already damaged by a quake that hit the area nine days ago.
The tremors, which were felt as far away as Austria, were centred 25 miles (40km) north-west of Bologna, near Mirandola, close to where a 6-magnitude quake struck in the early hours of 20 May, killing seven. Italy was searching through earthquake debris for the second time in nine days on Tuesday , after a 5.8-magnitude tremor shook the region of Emilia Romagna, killing at least 16 people and bringing down buildings damaged by a quake that hit the area on 20 May.
The latest quake struck at 9am when many more local factories were open – a likely reason for the higher death toll. At least seven people were missing and 350 were left injured by the tremor, which centred on the town of Mirandola, 25 miles north-west of Bologna, and was felt as far away as Austria.
At least one employee at a factory in Mirandola was reported dead after the building collapsed the day after it reopened following the earlier quake. In the same town a person was also killed when a house fell down. The Italian government said 8,000 people were left homeless, adding to the 6,000 already sleeping in tents and temporary accommodation after the first, 6.0-magnitude quake, which struck the same area in the early hours and killed seven.
In Rovereto sul Secchia a priest was killed by a falling beam when his church partially collapsed on him. Father Ivo Martini was visiting the church, which had been damaged in the earlier quake, to see if he could salvage a statue of the Madonna. The latest quake occurred at 9am when more factories were open – causing the higher death toll.
In Cavezzo, where a number of industrial buildings damaged on 20 May came down, a woman reportedly died in a furniture factory. Two cheesemakers were injured when large wheels of Grana Padano cheese fell from shelves. "I ran out of the fruit and vegetable store where I work as everything was falling off the shelves," said Marzia Dondi, 42, as she stood outside her home in Cavezzo.
Deaths were also reported in San Felice sul Panaro, Concordia and Finale Emilia. A woman in Rolo was in a serious condition after leaping from a second floor window. "We haven't slept inside since last Sunday's earthquake. We're afraid to go back in, what a disaster. We were finally starting to calm down."
In Cavezzo's old city centre several buildings and the back half of the city church were reduced to rubble. Tents had been set up near the town's sports complex and cots laid out in the tennis courts. Frightened residents sat or stood outside their homes, unsure of their next steps. Four fifths of Cavezzo's buildings were reported to be damaged or inaccessible. Tents were set up at the town's sports complex and cots laid out on the tennis courts. Frightened residents sat or stood outside their homes, unsure of their next step.
"I ran out of the fruit and vegetable store where I work as everything was falling off the shelves," said Marzia Dondi, 42, as she stood outside her home with her two sons, aged 15 and nine. "We haven't slept inside since last Sunday's quake. We're afraid to go back in. What a disaster. We were finally starting to calm down." Some of the victims died in factories that had just reopened after suffering damage in the earlier quake.
When the quake hit Maurizio Bruschi ran to rescue his mother and several other elderly residents from a nursing home. "I saw dust and smoke coming up from the factories and warehouses on the edge of town," Bruschi said. "Many told themselves that the worst was over. But we keep getting hammered. Tonight I am sleeping in my tent again." "I saw dust and smoke coming up from the factories and warehouses on the edge of town," said Cavezzo resident Maurizio Bruschi. "Many told themselves that the worst was over. But we keep getting hammered."
Many locals were asking whether recent reports of gas drilling in the area might have contributed to instability of the area. Emergency workers directing traffic warned passersby not to smoke. At a factory in San Felice sul Panaro three employees died, including an engineer who was carrying out checks on the building's stability. On Tuesday evening, rescuers were still searching through the wreckage of a factory in Medolla for missing staff.
In the tent cities instructions were written in both Arabic and Italian, taking into consideration the large immigrant population of this industrial area.
Rescuers were searching through collapsed structures in Cavezzo, Medolla and Mirandola as dozens of aftershocks were registered throughout the region, five of which were above four in magnitude.
A castle in the town of Finale Emilia, which was damaged on 20 May, reportedly suffered further damage on Tuesday. The roof of the cathedral in Mirandola collapsed.
Thousands of locals have been living in tents and temporary accommodation since the first quake, afraid or unable to return to their homes.
On Tuesday the Italian prime minister, Mario Monti, asked people in the earthquake zone to "have faith" in rescue services. In Bologna authorities were phoning up to 12,000 elderly residents individually to offer advice as aftershocks continued.
"The fact that workers are again dying in these new shocks makes me think that factories were not rendered safe before sending people back to work," said Susanna Camusso, head of the CGIL union."The fact that workers are again dying in these new shocks makes me think that factories were not rendered safe before sending people back to work," said Susanna Camusso, head of the CGIL union.
Experts have said the area was not considered at risk of seismic activity until studies were carried out in 2004. The quakes are a serious blow for one of Italy's most productive regions, just as the country struggles to lift itself out of recession.
In Parma a football friendly between Italy and Luxembourg due to be held on Tuesday evening was called off. Ferrari sent employees home from its car assembly line in Maranello "to allow them to reach their families". "Fear will paralyse Emilia now," wrote Mario Calabresi, editor of the newspaper La Stampa. "Who's going to be willing to go back to work in a big warehouse now?" he asked.
Schools were evacuated across Emilia Romagna, but also in Florence. A hospital was reportedly evacuated in Modena and train services at Bologna were delayed for checks to be made to the lines. Dozens of aftershocks rattled the region, some registering over five in magnitude, bringing down half-collapsed buildings and sending people fleeing from offices as far away as Bologna and Milan.
People in Bologna rushed into the street at the moment of the quake, which was felt in Milan, Genoa and in the Veneto and Trentino regions. A statue in Venice collapsed as the quake struck. The Italian prime minister, Mario Monti, asked people in the earthquake zone to "have faith" in rescue services. In Bologna authorities were phoning up to 12,000 elderly residents individually to offer advice.
Convoys of fire brigades and ambulances clogged tiny roads east of Modena, many littered with downed electrical lines and fallen debris. In the tent cities instructions were written in Italian and Arabic for the benefit of migrants working in local factories.
Other residents set up tents in their gardens, or made plans to head to relatives or to the Adriatic coast, where some hotels were opening up rooms to evacuees.
In Rovereto sul Secchia a priest, Father Ivan Martini, was killed by a falling beam when his church partially collapsed on him. He was visiting the church, which had been damaged in the earlier quake, to see if he could salvage a statue of the Madonna.
"He was brilliant, and very dedicated, especially to the inmates incarcerated in Modena, where he was the prison chaplain," said fellow priest Father Carlo Truzzi.
Truzzi was holding mass in a meeting room of a local bank in Mirandola when the quake hit, because the town's cathedral sustained significant damage a week ago. its roof caved in. "Between Modena and Ferrara, nearly every church had some damage," Truzzi said.
In Finale Emilia a castle damaged in the first quake crumbled further.
Adding to a growing list of destroyed or damaged cultural heritage, the quake also toppled the cupola of the basilica of Santa Barbara in Mantua and damaged local museums.
In Parma a football friendly between Italy and Luxembourg due to be held on Tuesday evening was called off, while the government declared 4 June a day of mourning for victims.
"Emilia Romagna and Italy will overcome this difficult moment," pledged Italian president Giorgio Napolitano.