Imagine a child sitting in a house doing homework and the ground beneath them starts to shake and crumble. The next thing this child sees is a faint light, from what looks like, above them. They have been consumed by crumbled pieces of their house. Where were the other people in the house, are they near? Will they survive? What will they eat? Can anyone hear them?
This is only one possibility of someone affected by an earthquake, and it’s not even the worst situation. Many earthquakes can happen a day where they are so minor you don’t notice, but there are other places that are not so lucky.
On Aug. 23, a 6.2 magnitude earthquake hit northeast of Rome, shaking the town and villages around it. The shock has instantly spread throughout all of Italy. Buildings have been destroyed, people have been trapped and over 240 people died.
For many, hope has been shattered since this awful event. Many believe most destruction was due to poorly-constructed buildings and architecture that hasn’t been renovated due to historical importance and the lack of specific materials, such as solid rock and concrete, that were used to build structures in the past. Many major news companies have been uploading before and after pictures, showing the destruction of the towns that were affected.
More than 4,300 rescuers fled to Italy when the news first surfaced. Many people, belongings and animals were trapped and rescuers have spent many hours saving those who have been imprisoned under the rubble.
Earthquakes are a persistent danger for those who live on or near the Apennine Mountain Range. That range lays on a fault line which makes them prone to earthquakes and other natural disasters that can occur.
After the demolition, citizens who lost their homes were relocated to “tent towns.” “Tent towns” are camps for the affected so they have a temporary place to stay while they find new living quarters or their houses are rebuilt. After the quake, over 2,900 residents were living in a total of 59 towns. The government, however, has promised the residents of the “tent towns” other housing within the next six months. That lodging will be lightweight wooden houses, which may be better than tents, but will never be better than their houses before the earthquake.
On Aug. 28, the citizens started burying those who lost their lives. Many places, such as gyms, were turned into temporary funeral homes. Such a massive amount of people lost their lives, Italy started running out of room at funeral homes to hold funerals.
In the second phase of the Italian government’s disaster plan, reconstruction of the damaged central Italian towns would begin in six to eight months.