Dozens Dead, Hundreds Injured, Thousands Homeless after Italy Quakes

Tow significant quakes and dozens of aftershocks leave Italy’s Emilia Romagna region in ruins

At least two dozen people have been killed, hundreds more injured and more than 14,000 others left homeless following two quakes which struck near Bologna in N. Italy’s Emilia Romagna region on May 20 and 29 respectively.

The toll as it now stands

• At least 24 people dead
• More than 400 injured
• More than 14,000 people left homeless
• Thousands of building damaged or destroyed
• At least 2,000 businesses lost
• Cost of damage estimated at $650 million
• See also: Italy Declares State of Emergency in EQ Zone Posted on May 23, 2012
• And Shallow earthquake measuring 5.8Mw strikes Emilia Romagna region  Posted on May 29, 2012

Other Global Disasters, Significant Events

• Florida, USA. Nassau County has declared a state of emergency following the damage caused by tropical storm BERYL.

• NY, USA.   Seneca County has declared a state of emergency after extensive damage caused by a line of storms which produced 70MPH winds, heavy rain and large hail.
  • The worst-hit areas are the towns of Seneca Falls, Fayette and Waterloo, reports said.
  • The mayor of the village of Cayuga has also declared a state of emergency to “let people know there’s a lot of damage, and to be safe when they’re traveling through the village.”

• Peru. The Peruvian government has  declared a 30-day state of emergency in the SE province of Espinar after more than a week of protests over a proposed $1.5-billion expansion of the massive Tintaya copper mine left at least two people dead and hundreds of others injured.

• Central and Southern Plains, USA. The NWS storm prediction center has forecast “the development of large, destructive hail, a few tornadoes, and potentially widespread damaging winds over parts of the central and southern Plains later today and tonight.” Southern Kansas, western and central Oklahoma and northern Texas could most likely experience the activity. “Elsewhere, severe storms are also possible from the central high Plains into the Ozark Plateau and northern Texas.”

• Guizhou Province, China. At least 5.5 million people in SW China’s Guizhou province have been affected by droughts, rainstorms and hailstorms so far this year, said the authorities.

• Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). An outbreak of ovine rinderpest (PPR) in DRC, believed to be the worst outbreak of a livestock disease in the country in recent years, is killing thousands of goats and sheep.
  • In one area alone, Massima Nimba in Bandundu province,  about 25,000 goats have died of the disease and 5,000 from infected herds have been culled since January, the authorities said.

Global Disasters: Links, Forecasts and Background

• The First Wave of World’s Collapsing Cities
• Back to the Primordial Future
• The Fate of Energy Dinosaurs
• Mass Die-offs

• 2010 Disasters [Links to 2010 Disaster Calendar]
• Mega Disasters
• 2011 Disaster Calendar
• 2012 Disaster Calendar