ITALY-causes, effects and responses

• Earthquakes in Italy


  • Italy lies on the southern extent of the Eurasian Plate, where it meets the African Plate at a destructive plate boundary
  • The African Plate subducts down beneath the Eurasian Plate
  • Italy is covered with faults lines, with two major fault lines running through the country
  • The Apennines mountain range is being stretched in a north-west direction at a rate of around 3 mm per year
  • Pressure builds along the fault and, when released, causes earthquakes
• Towns and villages in the regions of Umbria, Lazio and Marche suffered most damage, particularly Amatrice in Lazio, where over half the buildings in the town were destroyed, including a school and the main hospital
• Across the region 293 historic buildings were severely damaged or completely destroyed
• Even though the government had allocated €1 billion for building improvements to be made following the 2009 L'Aquila earthquake, many properties did not meet seismic building standard
• The EU estimated the total damage at €21.9 billion
• Rescue workers, including the Italian Red Cross, 5000 soldiers and Alpine guides, arrived within an hour of the quake happening, searching for survivors and providing emergency medical supplies, food and tents
• Twelve helicopters and 70 dog teams were involved in the rescue effort
• Patients at Amatrice hospital were transferred to a nearby hospital in Rieti, as Amatrice's hospital was severely damaged
• A temporary hospital was set up and the national blood donation service appealed for new donors to ensure demand was met
• 10,000 people who were made homeless were accommodated in 58 tent camps
• 4000 people were accommodated in sports halls and hotels in the surrounding area
• Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi announced €50 million for the emergency response, for reconstruction work to begin immediately and taxes for residents to be cancelled
• Temporary buildings were constructed in Amatrice so children could return to school
• In August 2016, a €42 million government initiative called Italian Homes' (Casa Italia) was announced to rebuild the damaged houses in the area to make them earthquake-proof and have a country wide scheme to make all buildings earthquake-proof
• Following the reconstruction work, the school buildings in Amatrice were officially reopened in September 2016
• People were given tax breaks to help reduce the costs of rebuilding
• Six months after the earthquake, in around February 2017, the Italian government promised to move people from temporary camps into lightweight wooden houses
• A year later (so in 2017), 2.4 million tons of rubble and debris remained in affected areas