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EARTHQUAKES

Panic as three earthquakes strike Umbria

An earthquake measuring 4.1 on the Richter scale struck the central Italian region of Umbria on Monday night, and was followed by two smaller quakes this morning, creating panic among residents and closing schools in the hilltop town of Orvieto.

Published: 31 May 2016 13:10 CEST
Panic as three earthquakes strike Umbria
Schools in the Umbrian town of Orvieto were closed on Tuesday after strong tremors were felt. Photo: Yaniv Ben-Arie

The first quake, which was also felt in Tuscany and Lazio, was registered by the National Institute of Geophysics just before 10.30pm.

The epicentre was in the town of Castel Giorgio at a depth of 14.8km.

Nobody was injured and there were no reports of damage to property.

But strong tremors could be felt in Perugia, Trasimeno and Orvieto, as well as the Tuscan provinces of Arezzo and Grosseto.

“Last night’s was strong and lasted maybe 15 seconds. It was scary, we just froze, especially with not really knowing what to do,” Linda Martinez, a mother of three who lives in the hilltop town of Orvieto, told The Local.

A 3.4 magnitude quake hit the Lake Bolsena area at 9.22am on Tuesday, and was followed a few minutes later by one measuring 2.6, according to data the global earthquake monitoring site, EMSC/CSEM.

Both were also felt in Orvieto, prompting authorities to send schoolchildren home. Schools will remain closed on Wednesday.

“This morning it was much milder,” Martinez added.

Ij Honkanen, who also lives in Orvieto, said his couch started to shake as he was chatting with a friend on Skype.

“I immediately left the apartment,” he told The Local.

“People were panicking but I’ve felt quite a few since I’ve lived here, so wasn’t so worried. I spoke to a friend in Castel Giorgio, who said her building shook and some paintings fell off the wall, but other than that, there was no damage reported.”

The earthquakes come a month after a 3.6 magnitude quake struck Florence province.

Meanwhile, more than 50 small quakes within the space of five days were felt in the central Molise region in January.

Italy has two fault lines, making it one of the most tectonically active countries in Europe.

May 6th also marked the 40th anniversary since an earthquake hit Italy’s northeastern Friuli-Venezia region, killing 989 people and injuring 2,800.

Read more: Italy’s deadliest earthquakes over the last 100 years

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EARTHQUAKES

Turkish community in Germany gathers to help earthquake victims

The earthquake in Turkey and northern Syria has shaken the whole of Germany - but especially those who have relatives in the disaster area. 

Published: 8 February 2023 12:16 CET
Turkish community in Germany gathers to help earthquake victims

In dozens of cities in Germany, donations are being collected for victims of the massive earthquake, which as of Wednesday afternoon had claimed more than 11,000 lives.

People are bringing tent stoves, flashlights, diapers, fleece blankets, and hand warmers. One of the many collection points has been organized by the German-Turkish care service Dosteli in Berlin.

At the governmental level, Germany — home to about three million people of Turkish origin — will” mobilise all the assistance we can activate”, Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said on Wednesday.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz had a call with Erdogan and sent his “deep condolences”, as a search and rescue team left Tuesday afternoon with 50 rescuers and equipment. 

​​The EU said it was “funding humanitarian organisations that are carrying out search and rescue operations” in Syria as well as providing water and sanitation support and distributing blankets.

Charities line up to help

Particularly in Berlin, where over eight percent of the population is of Turkish origin, people have lined up down streets to drop off supplies. But they have led large donation efforts in cities like Frankfurt and Hamburg, where several businesses like bars set aside space to collect supplies,

The Dostali team had been sorting clothes and hygiene items all night, packing them and loading them into trucks. “Almost the entire Turkish diaspora in Berlin was there,” one volunteer told the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ)

The helpers organized themselves via appeals in social media. From the collection points, the donations are to be transported by trucks and planes to the affected regions. 

READ ALSO: Who are Germany’s foreign population and where do they live?

In response to an inquiry from the FAZ, Turkish Airlines confirmed that it was delivering donations from 14 countries to the Turkish crisis areas, Germany being one of them.

The Turkish community in Germany is well connected via social media – “and everyone wants to help,” said Kübra Oguz, a volunteer with the Puduhepa e.V., initiative founded by Turkish migrant women.

In order for this to happen in a targeted manner, she recommended directly donating money, which could then be funneled to buy food, hygiene products or shoes, depending on the need.

Several organisations in Germany and worldwide are also accepting donations for humanitarian aid, include UNICEF, Save the Children and Aktion Deutschland Hilft.

With reporting from AFP.

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