L'Aquila, Italy: Earthquake Damage & Aid By: Alyssa Hach

L’Aquila Earthquake :  General Information  Destruction of property, schools, and hospitals  Temporary living  Local aid  Foreign aid

General Information about the L’Aquila Earthquake The Earthquake occurred on April 6, people have lost their lives because of the earthquake 1,500 injured Around 50,000 people are homeless The earthquake had a magnitude of 6.3 and an aftershock of 5.2 at 6:24 pm (local Italy time) The earthquake occurred at 3:30 am (local Italy time) The L’Aquila Earthquake is the worst earthquake to move Italy since 1980

Maps of Italy

Current Living Standards  Nearly all of L’Aquila was leveled by the earthquake  Due to the horrible shaking, houses were destroyed, schools were destroyed, and ancient buildings were destroyed  There are currently 17,000 people who are living in tent cities  Most of the time there, they spend waiting in line for basic needs: food and water and using the bathroom  These people are basically living outside with the mountain temperatures and cold  The people who are living in the tents can feel all of the 420 aftershocks that have occurred since the actual earthquake

Destruction of Schools o L’Aquila holds several universities, and the Italian people are still unsure how badly these universities have been affected by the earthquake o Even though some buildings, including schools, are still standing most remain unusable because of the damage o Instead of using buildings, students are attending school in tents o If the students aren’t attending class at their local “tent site” then they are sent to regions of L’Aquila and other parts of Italy that are safe or were not disrupted or destroyed by the earthquake

Destruction of Schools o Children are attending classrooms in tents with students of all different ages o The materials they have include sheets of paper and pens o The lack of materials only allows the students to draw and do math o The students are currently being taught by volunteers

Destruction of Schools o The tent schools do not have the books or any other needed resources for the students to continues learning o The school buildings are buildings that are included in several prosecutors’ list of buildings that were part of “shoddy construction” which is the alleged reason as to why so many buildings collapsed

These tents were set by the up for the thousands of people who are now homeless Civil Protection Agency. There are several tent locations set up all around the outside areas of L’Aquila.

Hospitals of L’Aquila

One of the hospitals that was destroyed was the San Salvatore Hospital that was just recently “remodeled” Most of the hospitals have been destroyed and victims have to be airlifted to Rome for medical care Samples of the materials the San Salvatore Hospital was mad out of have been taken and deemed disgraceful

Instead of hospital beds inside of a building, the hospital has been transferred to fields where over 1,500 people needed treatment for injuries caused by the earthquake Not only did the hospital fail to meet building requirements, but it now has to deal with elderly and many sick and injured people who are not well enough to be transferred to a different hospital in a different region. Hospitals of L’Aquila

Local Financial Aid  The Italian Red Cross has set up funds and is accepting donations to help L’Aquila rebuild  So far 5.3 billion euro has already been spent  Italian Jews are working with the Red Cross to set up funds and aid to send to L’Aquila  This Jewish community also shared their Jewish hospital in Rome and other health facilities with the people of L’Aquila

Global and Foreign Financial Aid Canada has set up funds to send to L’Aquila through local networks of their own A community of Canadian Italians are setting up a dinner and a dance for $48 a ticket The proceeds of this night will go to L’Aquila Canadian Red Cross is concerned with raising funds for Italy, but will send volunteers and staff if L’Aquila asks for extra help

 The National Italian American Foundation has arranged funds and a place on their website ( donate for the victims  Madonna has pledged to donate around half million dollars to help aid the victims and L’Aquila, she has family, cousins, in the area Global and Foreign Financial Aid

Conclusions L’Aquila suffered great losses from the earthquake on April 6, 2009 Some of those losses could have been prevented if the structures in L’Aquila were kept up to date Temporary schools are being set up until the funds can be raised to start rebuilding schools in L’Aquila The San Salvatore Hospital was mostly destroyed, however, one section of it can be rebuilt and ready for use in several months The people of Italy, and in various places of the world are gathering to raise money for L’Aquila to help them raise the billions of dollars they will need to rebuild When L’Aquila rebuilds, they should rebuild stronger than they were before with sturdier buildings so that this kind of earthquake won’t cause this kind of damage in the future