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posted Sunday, January 17, 2010 |
Being located on 2 seismic fault lines, Italy has been subject to many earthquakes over the years. They basically run along the spine of the country, right through the Apennine mountain range. The most recent major earthquake registered 6.3 on the Richter scale and happened on April 6, 2009; it left thousands of people homeless while killing approximately 150 people.
The most fatal one happened in 1908 in the straits of Messina, which separate the mainland from the island of Sicily. It registered 7.5 on the Richter scale, and along with the resulting tsunami (tidal wave), estimates are that approximately 200,000 people lost their lives. There are also many active volcanoes in Italy, the most active one being Mount Etna (Sicily). The most famous one being Vesuvius (still active) which destroyed the Roman towns of Pompeii and Herculaneum in 79 A.D.
Haitian Relief
There is an old Italian saying that says "tutto il mondo e' un paese", which translates to "the world is a country". It is supposed to mean that despite all our differences in culture, language, skin color, or whatever, we really are all brothers and sisters when you get down to it.
That is never more apparent when we see all the suffering in Haiti as a result of this week's earthquake which measured 7.0 on the Richter scale. Current estimates place the fatalaties at 50,000. The images coming across the television are truly awful and heart-wrenching. Unfortunately, it often takes a tragedy of this magnitude to pull people together and help out our brothers and sisters.
Haiti is in need of much supplies and humanitarian relief. I've listed a couple of links that you can use to help out monetarily if you are so inclined: the Red Cross | Unicef.org - there are of course many other wonderful organizations that are providing relief. Please do not click on any links that you may receive through email, as many low-life spammers try to take advantage of people's generosity by having you click on a scam. The U.S. State Department has also set up a toll-free number that you can use if you are trying to find out about the status of a loved one in Haiti. That number is 1-888-407-4747.
God Bless
The most fatal one happened in 1908 in the straits of Messina, which separate the mainland from the island of Sicily. It registered 7.5 on the Richter scale, and along with the resulting tsunami (tidal wave), estimates are that approximately 200,000 people lost their lives. There are also many active volcanoes in Italy, the most active one being Mount Etna (Sicily). The most famous one being Vesuvius (still active) which destroyed the Roman towns of Pompeii and Herculaneum in 79 A.D.
Haitian Relief
There is an old Italian saying that says "tutto il mondo e' un paese", which translates to "the world is a country". It is supposed to mean that despite all our differences in culture, language, skin color, or whatever, we really are all brothers and sisters when you get down to it.
That is never more apparent when we see all the suffering in Haiti as a result of this week's earthquake which measured 7.0 on the Richter scale. Current estimates place the fatalaties at 50,000. The images coming across the television are truly awful and heart-wrenching. Unfortunately, it often takes a tragedy of this magnitude to pull people together and help out our brothers and sisters.
Haiti is in need of much supplies and humanitarian relief. I've listed a couple of links that you can use to help out monetarily if you are so inclined: the Red Cross | Unicef.org - there are of course many other wonderful organizations that are providing relief. Please do not click on any links that you may receive through email, as many low-life spammers try to take advantage of people's generosity by having you click on a scam. The U.S. State Department has also set up a toll-free number that you can use if you are trying to find out about the status of a loved one in Haiti. That number is 1-888-407-4747.
God Bless
Labels: haitian relief, italian earthquakes, volcanoes
