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L'Aquila, Italy 2009 - Coggle Diagram
L'Aquila, Italy 2009
L'Aquila sits on a major North South fault line along the length of the Apennine mountain range.
The fault line is linked to a destructive collision plate margin where the Eurasian Plate moves Southeast and the African Plate moves North West.
6.3 on the Richter scale.
Shallow focus of 5 miles.
Shockwaves felt throughout Italy, several aftershocks as high as 5.0 on the Richter scale measured in the following days.
Earthquakes are common in the area e.g. 6.4 magnitude earthquake in Assisi in 1997
A series of earthquakes hit the area around Amatrice from August to October 2016.
Social impacts
308 deaths
1500 injured + 70,000 homeless (28,000 rehoused in 180 tent cities)
Rescue efforts disrupted by 300 aftershocks and blocked narrow roads.
Many people had to migrate to seek work - local businesses destroyed.
Some residents suffer from mental health issues as a result of the earthquake.
Others have developed coping strategies and increased their resilience to future hazards.
Attendance at social and religious events declined.
People were reluctant to use shops, bars, and restaurants rebuilt in the city centre.
Many young people left the area to look for jobs elsewhere.
All these changes altered the architectural and social character of the city.
Economic impacts
16 billion euros cost - damage to property and lost possessions
Modern & historical buildings damaged, including city hospital, local university, and L'Aquila Cathedral.
Bridge connecting to nearby towns collapsed - disrupted emergency response and distribution of resources
Main water pipe from Paganica broken - worsened problem of fires in collapsed buildings.
University buildings were badly damaged resulting in the number of students enrolling decreasing.
Environmental impacts
1000km2 affected by surface ruptures.
Broken water pipes led to large landslides.
Several habitats for local mammals and birds were destroyed.
Aftermath
Reconstruction programs helped to build over 280 housing units in 19 new settlements.
These accommodate 23,000 survivors who lived in the city centre.
1 year after the earthquake, 5000 people remained in hotels, 15,000 people in provisional housing and 27,000 in rented houses
However, this housing solution involves problems such as lack of basic services, urban facilities (churches, schools, pharmacies, post offices, supermarkets etc.)
Limited public transport, social fragmentation and functional living.
5 years later - some areas of the city centre are still off limits to citizens.
Many buildings are supported by electro-welded buttress.
More needed to be done on the preservation of regional and community values, more dialogue with the local population, and far better management of relations with the local, regional and community values - even if it was at the cost of more people remaining in temporary accomodation.
Political impacts - trial of the scientists
The trial arose from a statement issued after a meeting of the committee in L'Aquila on 31 March 2009, six days before the city was devastated by the earthquake
Each of the seven men faced six -year jail sentences on charges of multiple manslaughter and negligence causing grievous bodily harm.
The men had also been ordered to pay more than 9 million euros in damages to the survivors.
The government has also been blamed for not rebuilding L'Aquila quickly enough or involving the residents in the process,.
Community response
Some accepted homes in new towns or suburbs, believing that risk would be lower there.
Others took their own steps to reduce risk - e.g. residents of Pescomaggiore worked with professional builders to create new earthquake-resistant homes out of wood and straw.
Solar panels were added to decrease reliance on mains power.
