The Italian American Museum initiated a crowdfunding campaign on August 25th in the aftermath of the 6.2 magnitude earthquake that devastated Central Italy on August 24th. Now, in the aftermath of two more strong earthquakes that have struck central Italy, we ask for your help in providing assistance to the devastated area. If you have not yet contributed or would like to make an additional donation, please do so now. So far we have collected: $15,400.
Please follow link to donate:
https://www.youcaring.com/central-italy-earthquake-631656
If you prefer payment by check, please make payable to:
“Italian American Museum” and indicate in the memo section, “Earthquake Relief 2016”.
You can mail your check to:
Italian American Museum
Earthquake Relief 2016
155 Mulberry St.
New York, NY 10013
The need is great and we need your help.
Thank you for your support.
Dr. Joseph V. Scelsa
President
Italian American Museum
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Two Earthquakes Shake Up Central Italy
By Elisabetta Povoledo Oct. 26, 2016
ROME — Two powerful earthquakes rattled central Italy on Wednesday, knocking down electrical and telephone lines, damaging buildings and frightening the residents of several towns already unnerved by an earthquake that killed nearly 300 people two months ago.
The two quakes – one measuring 5.4, the other 5.9, according to Italy’s national volcanology center — were two hours apart on Wednesday evening, and caused damage to a number of buildings in several central Italian towns. They were part of the same seismic activity that began with the Aug. 24 quake in the Apennine Mountains.
The epicenters were in the province of Macerata, near the towns of Castelsantangelo sul Nera, Visso and Ussita, but the quakes were felt as far away as Veneto in the north, and even many Romans — including employees of the Foreign Ministry, which was evacuated — took to the streets after buildings began to tremble.
The situation is “not so catastrophic” as could have been expected after such a powerful quake, Fabrizio Curcio, the head of Italy’s civil protection department, said at a news conference on Wednesday evening.
He said several people had gone to hospital emergency rooms for light injuries and panic attacks. A third quake measuring 4.6 struck shortly before midnight. “You can understand how these sequences can strain people,” he said. Many people had decided not to spend the night in their homes, he said, so several towns had set up temporary lodgings.
Officials said civil protection workers and firefighters, including teams trained to find people in rubble, were on site in the stricken towns to monitor developments.
But steady rainfall and darkness made a thorough evaluation more difficult, Mr. Curcio said. “We’ll know more as assistance to the areas continues,” and with the approach of daylight, he added.
On Wednesday night, many in the quake zones opted to forgo temporary lodgings and slept in their cars, Italian television reported.
Geologists said shocks were to be expected after a strong earthquake like the one that struck in August, which effectively destroyed the town of Amatrice, in the Lazio region, as well as other towns in Umbria and the Marches region.
On Wednesday night, at least 30 aftershocks – including the two more powerful tremors – were registered. Carlo Meletti, of the national volcanology center, noted that in past earthquake disasters aftershocks had continued for some six months.
“It’s too early to say whether the sequence will continue like today, and whether it will extend to the north,” he said. “What we can say is that it’s part of the same system of faults that began on Aug. 24.”
The Apennines are situated in a highly seismic area, and after each quake, criticism over the failure to better protect buildings there has become a national refrain.
Massimo Cialente, the mayor of L’Aquila, the Abruzzo city that was destroyed in a 2009 earthquake, said residents there also felt Wednesday’s quake, even though the epicenter was more than 60 miles away. “It shows we have to do more to secure the country, because we can’t be terrorized every time there is an earthquake that hits 5.0,” he said.
www.nytimes.com/2016/10/27/world/europe/italy-earthquakes.html?ref=todayspaper
Please follow link to donate:
https://www.youcaring.com/central-italy-earthquake-631656
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