Last night around 7:30pm West Coast Time (3:30am Italy) a 6.3 or so earthquake rattled people in the medieval city of L'Aquila awake as their city began to crumble around them. L'Aquila is the capital of the Abbruzzo mountain area about 60 miles (95 km) northeast of Rome. The quake was felt in Rome as well, but as of yet no reports of damage, or life's lost in Rome.
In and around L'Aquila it is a different story. News reports are claiming as many as 90 people have died in the quake, and tens of thousands have lost their homes.(http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7984867.stm) There are reports of many of the ancient buildings having collapsed including a dormitory many churches and apartments. One four story apartment in this video is compacted into no more than a pile of rubble, with people believed to still be trapped within. Rescuers are working to save as many lives as possible.
Many of the surrounding structures while still standing are damaged with large cracks and holes. L'Aquila is a city of about 70,000 and with so many people experiencing loss and displacement, please join me in praying for them as they deal with this devastation.
3 comments:
We're praying too. Tomorrow (Wednesday) we have home group, led by the main elder. We'll ask about the church's options for bringing help. As always, the most effective means to get help to victims is via local churches, so we'll find out if our church has contacts. I don't trust government officials in Italy to channel money or materials. We'll keep you posted. grace and peace, Sarah
Sarah I have a friend who is studying in Italy, and she is trying to get a group of students together to go help. I told her to keep me posted, so I could keep you all posted. Maybe Amore could do something.
My Church and I are praying
I just never thought of Italy having to deal with earthquakes. I'm assuming an old city like that would crumble so fast. Just wanted to check in and let you know I'm praying. I'm so glad your friends/team were outside of the quake.
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