Heavy snowfall hampers rescue operations in Italy
- 7 years ago
Heavy snowfall is hampering earthquake rescue operations in central Italy.
The regions of Lazio, Marche and Abruzzo were shaken by a series of strong tremors on Wednesday.
At least two people are reported to be still missing.
The area is recovering from a series of severe earthquakes last year.
Montereale
Montereale is one of the villages closest to the epicentre of Wednesday’s earthquakes.
The village was flattened by a tremor in 1703. It was heavily damaged in the L’Aquila quake of 2009.
Locals are also coping with unusually heavy snowfall.
‘‘We have had this problem since 2009”, Mayor Massimiliano Georgi told reporters. “Every time we get back on our feet , another one comes along. Unfortunately we have to live with this problem and we have to try to keep going.’‘
“There is very heavy snow. This is the problem. It is very cold. We cannot sleep at home tonight, because we are afraid (of the earthquake) but outside, in the car or in a tent, it is very cold and snowy,” said a resident.
Residents in quake-hit Italian village Montereale must also deal with heavy snow as they check for damage https://t.co/Tyr0anYAKE pic.twitter.com/5O6sDo8tE5— AFP news agency (@AFP) January 18, 2017
Earthquakes with initial magnitude of 5.3 strike Montereale in Italy https://t.co/TgjLNnsaBE— The Guardian (@guardian) January 18, 2017
Trapped in a hotel
Emergency teams battled through deep snow to reach a hotel hit by an avalanche in the Abruzzo region of Italy hit by a series of strong earthquakes.
More than 20 guests and staff were marooned in the building in Rigopiano, according to reports.
The route was blocked by fallen trees and heavy snow. Teams are using skis to get through.
Rescuers heading to the site included:
20 firefighters
two mountain rescue teams
six ambulances
local police
In arrivo nostri cinofili dopo viaggio tra muri di neve per ricerca dispersi di hotel #Rigopiano travolto da slavina. Si scava nelle neve. pic.twitter.com/p3XGhgpNRf— Polizia di Stato (@poliziadistato) January 19, 2017
Video: Footage of the Rescue efforts in extremely difficult conditions at the Rigopiano di Farindola hotel #Italy pic.twitter.com/OvK3HhSbNN— chill (@chiIIinois) January 18, 2017
Castiglione Messer Raimondo
A woman and her baby son have been pulled from the rubble. Both had hypothermia.
The fire service says a helicopter scrambled to take them to hospital got into difficulty and they had to be transported by road.
Earthquakes
The US Geological Survey said the three strongest tremors all struck within the space of one hour.
They had magnitudes of 5.3, 5.7 and 5.6.
In total, there were 10 quakes over the magnitude of 4.0, clustered in a 10 kilometre radius around Amatrice,
The town was devastated by an earthquake last August.
Experts have warned the risk of another earthquake in the area is high.
The regions of Lazio, Marche and Abruzzo were shaken by a series of strong tremors on Wednesday.
At least two people are reported to be still missing.
The area is recovering from a series of severe earthquakes last year.
Montereale
Montereale is one of the villages closest to the epicentre of Wednesday’s earthquakes.
The village was flattened by a tremor in 1703. It was heavily damaged in the L’Aquila quake of 2009.
Locals are also coping with unusually heavy snowfall.
‘‘We have had this problem since 2009”, Mayor Massimiliano Georgi told reporters. “Every time we get back on our feet , another one comes along. Unfortunately we have to live with this problem and we have to try to keep going.’‘
“There is very heavy snow. This is the problem. It is very cold. We cannot sleep at home tonight, because we are afraid (of the earthquake) but outside, in the car or in a tent, it is very cold and snowy,” said a resident.
Residents in quake-hit Italian village Montereale must also deal with heavy snow as they check for damage https://t.co/Tyr0anYAKE pic.twitter.com/5O6sDo8tE5— AFP news agency (@AFP) January 18, 2017
Earthquakes with initial magnitude of 5.3 strike Montereale in Italy https://t.co/TgjLNnsaBE— The Guardian (@guardian) January 18, 2017
Trapped in a hotel
Emergency teams battled through deep snow to reach a hotel hit by an avalanche in the Abruzzo region of Italy hit by a series of strong earthquakes.
More than 20 guests and staff were marooned in the building in Rigopiano, according to reports.
The route was blocked by fallen trees and heavy snow. Teams are using skis to get through.
Rescuers heading to the site included:
20 firefighters
two mountain rescue teams
six ambulances
local police
In arrivo nostri cinofili dopo viaggio tra muri di neve per ricerca dispersi di hotel #Rigopiano travolto da slavina. Si scava nelle neve. pic.twitter.com/p3XGhgpNRf— Polizia di Stato (@poliziadistato) January 19, 2017
Video: Footage of the Rescue efforts in extremely difficult conditions at the Rigopiano di Farindola hotel #Italy pic.twitter.com/OvK3HhSbNN— chill (@chiIIinois) January 18, 2017
Castiglione Messer Raimondo
A woman and her baby son have been pulled from the rubble. Both had hypothermia.
The fire service says a helicopter scrambled to take them to hospital got into difficulty and they had to be transported by road.
Earthquakes
The US Geological Survey said the three strongest tremors all struck within the space of one hour.
They had magnitudes of 5.3, 5.7 and 5.6.
In total, there were 10 quakes over the magnitude of 4.0, clustered in a 10 kilometre radius around Amatrice,
The town was devastated by an earthquake last August.
Experts have warned the risk of another earthquake in the area is high.