The L'Aquila earthquake

The L'Aquila earthquake which measured 6.3 on the Richter scale occurred at 3:32 local time on 6 April 2009 in central Italy, in the region of Abruzzo. The epicentre of this quake was near L'Aquila, the capital of Abruzzo. Many of the surrounding villages suffered most damage.

A movement on a NW-SE trending normal fault caused this earthquake. Italy lies in a tectonically complex region. For a long time, the central part of the Apennines has been characterised by extensional tectonics with most of the active faults being normal in type and NW-SE trending. Because of the back-arc basin in the Tyrrhenian Sea opening faster than the African Plate, it is colliding with the Eurasian Plate.

Between 3,000 and 11,000 buildings in the medieval city of L'Aquila were damaged. Several buildings also collapsed. 308 people were killed by the earthquake and approximately 1,500 people were injured. Around 65,000 people were made homeless.

Though the aftershocks caused safety problems for rescue crews with cranes and backhoes who are searching for injured people among precarious loose bricks and broken timbers of structures in the historic centre of L'Aquila, a medieval city, extensive rescue work was conducted.
Aftershocks also caused sustained psychological trauma to small children and elderly. The Italian government was aware of this psychological trauma situation and therefore temporarily relocated thousands of citizens away from the epicentral area.

To minimize damage from such events, there are 2 levels of actions. On an individual level, measures include not running outside during the shaking or use the stairways or elevators. Many people are killed just outside of buildings by falling bricks and other debris.
On a larger scale, governments of earthquake prone countries must ensure and insist that their buildings have higher standards for design, construction, and inspection.


Bibliography:

Website

http://quake.wr.usgs.gov/prepare/future/reduce/index.html
Extracted 28-01-2010

http://www.nasa.gov/worldbook/earthquake_worldbook.html
Extracted 28-01-2010

http://earthquake.usgs.gov/eqcenter/eqinthenews/2009/us2009fcaf/
Extracted 28-01-2010

http://earthquakes.suite101.com/article.cfm/laquila_italy_earthquake_2009
Extracted 28-01-2010