Abruzzo Today - The Easter Earthquakes in Abruzzo, 2009

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The Easter Earthquakes in Abruzzo, 2009

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In Italy, "Good Friday" is called "Venerdì Santo", meaning Holy Friday. This Holy Friday was not very good, as we ironically buried nearly 300 inhabitants of our beloved land of Abruzzo.
We all have our teary eyes glued to the news on TV, our hearts aching for these fellow countrymen, and our heads just struggling to understand how it is possible that so many people had to lose their lives in this tragic event. As many of us feared, the news is now reporting that many lives were lost due to negligence and dishonesty on the part of whoever built the apartment buildings that crumbled to the ground. Unfortunately, Italians seem to be allergic to regulations, and -- I'm generalizing here -- really good at making things look all peachy on the outside. In other words, some of the modern buildings that crumbled to the ground and killed innocent people were built using faulty materials and faulty methods. We all feel sickened by this news and cheated by a government that does not enforce its regulations well enough.
Of course, this is not true for those historical buildings that sadly are no longer part of Italy's great treasure of architectural beauty. Many people's homes were built up to 400 years ago, made of stone and mortar. Some important churches were badly damaged and we hope that most of them will eventually be restored.
On a good note, although most of central Italy felt the earth shaking, there are still hundreds of beautiful towns that are not located in earthquake zones, even right here in Abruzzo.

This map shows the seismic risk in Abruzzo. The area in purple is at highest risk, while the areas in light yellow, greens and blues are at lowest risk.

Just to put things into perspective for anyone who might be concerned about travelling in Abruzzo, here are some interesting facts:

Over one-third of the Italian peninsula is considered at high-risk for seismic activity.

In Italy, 5% of the population lives in areas considered at high-risk for earthquakes. 35% of the population lives in medium-risk zones.

In Abruzzo, as compared to the whole country, 19% of the population is in a high-risk zone, 34% live in medium-risk zones, and 47% live in low-risk zones.

All of the coastal towns in Abruzzo are in low-risk zones. It is very unlikely that an earthquake would cause damage or death in the towns located along the Adriatic Sea.

Most of the area in Abruzzo that is at high risk for seismic activity is located in the national parks, and therefore not as densely populated.

So, don't cancel your trip to Abruzzo. Instead, plan your holiday in lower-risk areas. Your visit to Abruzzo is important because it helps sustain our economy and our recovery from this recent disaster.

Thanks for keeping us in your thoughts and prayers. We are aware that there are people all over the world who have their hearts tied to Abruzzo. Let's all pitch in to support the relief efforts.

If you would like to make a donation from the USA, you can find more information here.

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