A lifestyle expat travel blog about culture, history, Brexit, the Royal Family, travels around the world, Europe, and being British in Berlin!
I’m digressing from my usual post this week.
There has been an earthquake in Italy, and it is devastating.
Sadly, many of the buildings have been utterly flattened!
I have five (5) favourite countries in the world, and Italy is one of them!
Our deepest sympathies are with the Italian people and everyone affected by the terrible earthquake.
Italy, otherwise known as the Italian Republic, is a country based in Europe, and is sometimes referred to as lo Stivale or the boot.
It has 61 million inhabitants, and is the third most populous EU member state.
Located in the heart of the Mediterranean Sea, Italy shares open land borders with France, Austria, Slovenia, San Marino, Switzerland, and the Vatican City.
Italy is one of my favourite countries and I have visited many parts such as Rome, Milan, Pisa, Florence, Trento, Siena, the Vatican City, Lake Garda, Cinque Terre, and Tuscany.
In the early hours of 24.08.16, central Italy was hit by a magnitude 6.2 earthquake, leaving at least 290 people dead and many more trapped under rubble!
The quake happened at 03.36 local time (01.36 GMT) on Wednesday, at a shallow depth of 10km, with some buildings shaking for 20 seconds. Survivors however, were rattled by a 4.5 magnitude aftershock on Thursday morning!
A number of towns and villages in the regions of Umbria, Lazio and Le Marche, about 65 miles north-east of Rome, were terribly affected with the mayor of Amatrice, in Lazio stating gravely that “half the town is gone!”
More than 4,300 emergency service workers have been summoned to the region, and are using heavy equipment, and their bare hands to shift the debris.
The town and villages affected are in Umbria, known as the “green heart” of Italy.
Umbria was once regarded as the side-kick of Tuscany, but in recent years, has raised its profile with intimate and easily visited hill towns of Perugia (the capital), Assisi, Todi and Norcia.
Umbria is a region in central Italy.
It is the only Italian region having neither a coastline nor a border with other countries, and includes Lake Trasimeno, Cascata delle Marmore, otherwise known as Marmore’s Falls, and the River Tiber.
The regional capital is Perugia.
Umbria is characterized by hills and historical towns such as Perugia (the capital), Assisi (a World Heritage Site associated with St. Francis of Assisi), and Norcia (the hometown of St. Benedict!)
Umbria is also known for its food, wine, culture, architecture, landscape, traditions, and history.
ARE EARTHQUAKES IN ITALY UNUSUAL?
Sadly, like places such as Japan & California, many parts of Italy lie on a major seismic fault line, but you tend not to feel minor tremors that occur on a daily basis!
The Civil Protection Agency in Italy said: “Over the past thousand years, some 3,000 earthquakes have provoked serious and less serious damage. Almost 300 of them (with a magnitude higher than 5,5) had destructive effects, and one every ten years has catastrophic effects, with an energy comparable to the L’Aquila earthquake of 2009.”
Any Italian municipality can be affected by earthquake effects, but the strongest earthquakes are focused in the following areas: Northern-Eastern Italy (Friuli Venezia Giulia and Veneto), Western Liguria, Northern Apennines (from Garfagnana to the Rimini area), and, above all, across the Central and Southern Apennines, in Calabria and Eastern Sicily.
In the wake of the 2009 earthquake, the Italian government launched a national plan to combat the effects of seismic activity.
I wasn’t able to find the English versions, but I’m sure you can translate them on google!
The affected regions of Lazio, Umbria, Marche and Abruzzo each have websites giving advice to travellers. The state police website provides updates about roads that are damaged.
The Civil Protection department in Italy has also provided:
It’s going to take many years before these regions recover from the devastating effects of a natural disaster.
Once the safety of the local people and the area has been secured, don’t run away from Italy, but go and visit the country and spend your money in local areas.
Here’s why:
That’s it for now.
See you next week!
This article is not sponsored, and all opinions and thoughts about Italy, are my very own!
The Pop Kultur Festival is a new festival based in hipster Neukölln, over three (3) exciting days of new international and German bands, live concerts, performances, talks and reading, taking place from 31.08.16 – 02.09.16.
Berlin Art Week will take place from 13.09.16 – 18.09.16, so if you like contemporary art, this is the place for it!
I’ll also be attending the Down Under Berlin Australian & New Zealand Film Festival, from 14.09.16 – 18.09.16, which is the largest film festival in Europe dedicated to Australian and New Zealand film!
Save the Date!
September is going to be artistically creative!
I’ll be there. Will you?
As usual, you can also follow me via daily tweets and pictures on Twitter & Facebook!
If you’re not in Berlin in August, what are you waiting for?!
Watch this space!
See you in Berlin.
Awesome pictures that gave great context, Victoria. I would have NO idea what to do in an earthquake so I really appreciate your tips. Great job as always!
Thanks so much Courtney! I hope that none of us ever have to, but sadly, the earth is changing, and it’s a good thing to know what to do!
Having been through one of the biggest ones in Los Angeles, the Northridge earthquake really shook me to the core. I remember it vividly and the lights were out for like 10 days. Our bed/bath remodel was pushed back like 4 months as the inspectors were needed for site damages which sucked, but no damage thank god. I remember our neighbor who was a DJ and had a company cell phone letting us use it to call family to let them know we were okay and she also gave shout outs on the radio for neighbors. This earthquake in Italy makes me feel sad about the loss of lives 🙂 . We just left Bologna and Rome like 3 weeks ago. Fede’s family in Rome felt the shaking, but luckily no damage. I feel restless about the world, but soldier on we must 😉
Thanks so much KemKem!
Goodness! I can’t imagine what it must be like to be in a huge earthquake! How awful. I’ve experienced an earthquake only once, and it was more of a tremor. We thought it was as a result of a huge lorry zooming pass. We were very scared when we realized it wasn’t!
How lucky that you and Ferderico’s family were not adversely affected. I can’t imagine feeling the shaking, only to discover that the start of a real disaster has already taken place many miles away, and you are feeling “the end”. How awful it must be!
I too feel restless, and annoyed, that top “experts” still believe that global warming isn’t real. I feel gloomy, because this devastating earthquake is probably not the last of such natural disasters, but perhaps, the beginning. 🙁 However, we must, as you say, stay calm. Live life to the fullest, and soldier on!
A beautiful tribute to an amazingly beautiful country. I adore Italy, the country of my paternal grandparents. Nonna was from the Veneto region and Nonno from Bologna, they met and fell in love in São Paulo, Brazil. I grew up hearing about Italy and could not wait to visit it myself. When I finally did, it felt like going home. I have never experienced an earthquake and I feel deeply sorry for all the people who have directly or indirectly been affected by such a devastating natural disaster. Thanks Victoria for this great post
Thanks so much Gilda!
I too adore Italy, and it’s such a darn shame that this devastating earthquake has occured. Such an awful natural disaster that nobody has control over. My sincere thoughts are with the lovely people of Italy, and I wish them a speedy recovery.
One of my friends is Italian and I messaged her right after I found out about this tragedy. I’m so sorry to see one of my first cities I traveled to in Europe being demolished by the Mother Nature. :((((
Thanks so much Agness!
I’m so upset! Sadly, there’s not a lot that we can do about Mother Nature taking it’s course, but to be prepared for more, most likely. :((((
I’m so devastated for the families in Italy. I grew up in California and remember waking up to a bad Earthquake. My family and I stood in the hall and waited for it to end. I remember the walls around us sounded like they were bending. It was insane. I guess you never ever realize that one of these things can really take your home from you.
Thanks so much Natasha!
An earthquake is a most awful scary thing. I can’t imagine how you must have felt. Thank goodness, all was well. Regretfully, I don’t really think we’ll be hearing the last of earthquakes in Italy, or any other place for that matter. Eathquakes, tsunamis, volcanic eruption, and severe flooding, are beginning to be quite the norm. All we can do is prepare as best we can, and cross our fingers. 🙁
Yes, such terrible news. I can hardly believe that we were in Umbria just last month; it’s such a beautiful region and like you, Italy is one of my favourite European countries. I hope the recovery is fast; it was heartening to read yesterday about the dog who survived after being trapped under the rubble for over a week though.
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