More than 90 dead in Italian quake
|
No Lankans
affected
A Foreign Ministry spokesman confirmed yesterday that no Sri
Lankans were affected by the earthquake in Italy. |
A powerful earthquake struck a swathe of central Italy as residents
slept on Monday morning, killing more than 90 people and flattening
whole towns.
At least 50,000 people have been made homeless, officials said.
Most of the dead were in L’Aquila, a 13th-century mountain city about
100 km (60 miles) east of Rome, and surrounding towns and villages in
the Abruzzo region.
“Some towns in the area have been virtually destroyed in their
entirety,” Gianfranco Fini, speaker of the lower house of parliament,
said as MPs observed a moment of silence.
Civil Protection Department officials said up to 50,000 people may
have been made homeless in some 26 cities and towns. More than 1,500
people were injured and thousands of houses, churches and buildings
collapsed or were damaged. Older houses and buildings made of stone,
particularly in outlying villages that have not seen much restoration,
collapsed like straw houses. Hospitals appealed for help from doctors
and nurses throughout |
