Plate Tectonics- Seismicity Case Study

L'Aquila Earthquake, 2009

Key Facts

• Date: 6th of April 2009
• Magnitude: 6.3
• Eurasian and African Plates at a destructive plate margin

Location

L’Aquila is historical city located in central Italy. It has a population of 70,000.

Causes

• The earthquake was along the north-south fault line, along the Apennine mountain range and was caused by the Eurasian and African Plates at a destructive plate margin. 
• The African plate is subducted below the continental Eurasian plate. 
• It was a magnitude 6.3 earthquake on the Richter scale, with a shallow focus of 5.5 miles. 
• The earthquake struck at 03:32 local time on 6th of April 2009. Buildings in the area were poorly constructed as many were very old and had not been reinforced. 

Effects

Economic:

• Cost Italy $15 billion.
• Thousands of buildings destroyed. (Including old tourist attractions such as L’Aquila cathedral.)
• A bridge in Fossa collapsed.
• Fires spread in destroyed/ damaged buildings. 

Environmental:

• 1000km2 affected by surface ruptures, rock falls and landslides.
• Wildlife habitats affected, loss of biodiversity in some areas. 

Social:

• 307 deaths. (Mainly from collapsing buildings)
• 1500 injured.
• 70,000 people made homeless- housed in tent cities but 10,000 accommodated in hotels along the coast.
• Aftershocks (reaching 5 on RS) hampered rescue efforts and lead to more deaths.
• People had to leave the area (young people for work) to find jobs 

Response

"Could 179 lives have been saved? Italian scientist warned of killer earthquake a WEEK ago - but was silenced."

In October, 2012, seven Italian earthquake scientists were found guilty of manslaughter for their role in failing to communicate the risk of a possible earthquake, shortly before a powerful 2009 earthquake killed more than 300 people in the city of L’Aquila, Italy.

Aid

National aid:

• All Italian mobile companies sent free minutes and credit to all their pre-paid customers in Abruzzo, suspended billing to all post-paid customers and extended their coverage with additional mobile base stations to cover homeless camps.
•  In addition, some companies sent free mobile phones, SIM Cards and chargers for those who lost their mobiles, and set up a national unique number to send donations to, by placing a call or sending an SMS. 
• Poste Italiane sent to homeless camps some mobile units acting as Postal Office, to allow people to withdraw money from their accounts as well as their retirement.
• Many companies, such as pay-tv SKY Italia, suspended billing to all customers in Abruzzo, and offered some decoders to homeless camps to allow them to follow the funerals and the news. 
• Ferrovie dello Stato offered railway sleeping carriages to host some homeless people, and offered free tickets to all people and students living in Abruzzo. 
• AISCAT declared that all toll-roads in Abruzzo would be free of charge. 
• All tax billing for all Abruzzo residents has been suspended by the government, as well as mortgage payments. 

International aid:

• Prime Minister of Italy Silvio Berlusconi refused foreign aid for the emergency, saying that Italians were "proud people" and had sufficient resources to deal with the crisis. However he singled out the United States, announcing that he would accept aid for reconstruction: "If the United States wants to give a tangible sign of its solidarity with Italy, it could take on the responsibility of rebuilding heritage sites and churches. We would be very happy to have this support." and suggested the USA help rebuild "a small district of a town or a suburb".