A strong earthquake in central Italy reduced three towns to rubble as people slept early Wednesday, killing at least 73 people and injuring hundreds more as rescue crews raced to dig out survivors with bulldozers and their bare hands.
The toll was likely to rise as crews reached homes in more remote hamlets where the scenes were apocalyptic “like Dante’s Inferno,” according to one witness. Complicating matters was that the area is a popular vacation spot in summer, with populations swelling, making the number of people in the area at the time difficult to estimate.
“The town isn’t here anymore,” said Sergio Pirozzi, the mayor of Amatrice. “I believe the toll will rise.”
Paolo Santalucia, Frances D’Emilio and Nicole Winfield, Associated Press: Italy Earthquake Kills Dozens, Reduces Towns to Rubble.
We don’t usually write anything editorially in linkage posts, but I’m going to deviate from that norm here. Ordinary Times offers its best wishes to the people of Italy and particularly to the families directly affected. There are many worthy causes, many disasters, and many tragedies; this one strikes close to home for me because I have family who live about 150 kilometers away from the epicenter near Amatrice (they are all doing fine). The Italian Red Cross is accepting donations in all currencies, and is involved in medical response and rescue efforts.
Image by /pitzyper! 
My thoughts are with them.
I can’t help but relate this to the link Will had up about drama & natural disasters. This is one of the reasons why I have a real hard time supporting movements to preserve older construction. I can see the value for certain buildings with significant historical value, but overall, given the advances in construction techniques and the ability to design & build homes to resist natural disasters, we shouldn’t wait for such widespread destruction before conducting urban renewal.Report
And then, also awful, I learn later today of another large earthquake in Myanmar. This one seems to have been less deadly than Italy’s, but may have a more lasting impact on that nation — it struck at the heart of the slowly-emerging tourism industry there, damaging ancient and magnificent temples.Report