M 5.9, northern Italy

[EMSC]

http://earthquake.usgs.gov/images/globes/45_10.jpgSunday, May 20, 2012 02:03:53 UTC
Sunday, May 20, 2012 04:03:53 AM at epicenter

Depth: 10.10 km (6.28 mi)





More... (http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/recenteqsww/Quakes/usb0009tk0.php)

[MorningSong]

At least 7 dead after quake rocks northern Italy
From Barbie Nadeau, For CNN
May 20, 2012 -- Updated 1105 GMT (1905 HKT)

Rome (CNN) -- A strong earthquake struck northern Italy early Sunday, leaving at least seven people dead, authorities said.

Two people were killed in a ceramic factory in Sant'Agostino di Ferrara, and one person died when a work shed collapsed in Ponte Rodoni di Bondeno, said Elisabetta Maffani, spokeswoman for Italy's civil protection agency.

In addition, a woman in Bologna died of a heart attack during an evacuation; a Moroccan national died when the factory he was working in collapsed; and a sixth victim was found dead under rubble in Sant'Agostino, Maffani said. The seventh was located under a collapsed house, according to Alessio Bellodi of the civil protection branch in Bologna.

At least 50 people were injured. Workers were searching through rubble for survivors in Sant'Agostino.

The 6.0-magnitude quake occurred just after 4 a.m. (10 p.m. ET Saturday), 4 kilometers (2.4 miles) outside Camposanto, northwest of Bologna, the U.S. Geological Survey said.

In Sant'Agostino, the quake knocked down a church bell.

Authorities were still assessing damage in the region, the civil protection office said. The agency said it anticipates reports of more injuries as rescue workers make their way to remote villages in the mountainous area.

In January, the same area was struck by a 5.3-magnitude quake.

In 2009, a 6.3-magnitude earthquake struck near the central Italian city of L'Aquila, killing more than 300 people and causing widespread destruction.

http://edition.cnn.com/2012/05/20/world/europe/italy-earthquake/index.html

[MorningSong]

Strong quake hits Northern Italy, at least four dead

By Stephen Jewkes

BONDENO, Italy | Sun May 20, 2012 8:18am EDT



(Reuters) - A strong earthquake rocked a large swathe of northern Italy early on Sunday, killing at least four people, injuring dozens and seriously damaging historic buildings such as churches, bell towers and a mediaeval castle.

The quake, which the U.S. Geological Survey recorded at magnitude 6.0, struck at 4:04 a.m. (0204 GMT) while most people were sleeping, and thousands ran into the streets in their night clothes in panic.

"I ran out in my underwear," one man told Italian television.

The epicenter of the quake, the strongest to hit Italy in three years, was in the plains near Modena in the Emilia-Romagna region of the Po river valley, and the tremor was felt as far west as Liguria, bordering France, and the Friuli region bordering Slovenia.

The roof of the cathedral in Mirandola collapsed. "Our school children were to receive their first communion here this morning. If it had happened then it would have been a disaster," the local priest said.

Also badly damaged was the 14th century Estense Castle in the town of San Felice Sul Panaro.

The tops of several of the smaller towers of the famous mediaeval castle, the town's biggest attraction, collapsed and there were fears that the main tower could crumble. Three of the town's churches were severely damaged.

One person, believed to be a Moroccan man working a night shift in a polyester factory, died when he was hit by falling debris, and two men, also on the night shift, were killed when part of a modern ceramics factory made of steel collapsed in the town of Sant' Agostino.

"He wasn't supposed to be there. He changed shifts with a friend who wanted to go to the beach," the mother of one of the victims told state television.

The lifeless body of a fourth victim was spotted under rubble in another factory.

GASHES, CRACKS, GAS LEAKS

The quake left a large hole and gashes in the side of the Sant' Agostino town hall, which officials said was in danger of total collapse. Gas was also leaking in the town.

"I am 83 and I have never felt anything like this," said Lina Gardenghi, a resident of Bondeno, the town where one of the workers was killed.

Two other people, one of them a German woman, were reported to have died after suffering heart attacks because of the quake, and several dozen people suffered minor injuries.

Rescue workers were checking reports that other people were buried under rubble and were preparing to house those whose homes had been damaged or destroyed.

There was serious damage to historic buildings and churches in the provinces of Modena and Ferrara, and the quake also shook major towns such as Bologna, Rovigo, Verona and Mantua.

A series of strong aftershocks hit the area, the strongest measuring 5.1, and local mayors ordered residents to stay in the open.

The quake was centered 22 miles north-northwest of Bologna at a relatively shallow depth of 6.3 miles, the U.S. Geological Survey said.

The last major quake to hit Italy was a 6.3 magnitude quake in the central city of L'Aquila in 2009, which killed nearly 300 people.

After that quake, then Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi moved a G8 meeting that was to have been held in Sardinia to near L'Aquila in a show of solidarity with the victims.

(Additional reporting by Steve Scherer and Daniele Mari in Rome, writing by Philip Pullella; Editing by Tim Pearce)

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/05/20/us-quake-italy-idUSBRE84J01K20120520

http://s1.reutersmedia.net/resources/r/?m=02&d=20120520&t=2&i=609316902&w=&fh=&fw=&ll=700&pl=300&r=CBRE84J0ORO00

http://s1.reutersmedia.net/resources/r/?m=02&d=20120520&t=2&i=609292711&w=&fh=&fw=&ll=700&pl=300&r=CBRE84J0IP000

http://www.reuters.com/article/slideshow/idUSBRE84J01K20120520#a=1

[MorningSong]

Deadly Earthquake in North Italy Causes Wide Damage
By ELISABETTA POVOLEDO
Published: May 20, 2012

ROME — An earthquake struck the northern Italian region of Emilia Romagna on Sunday, killing at least five people, wounding dozens and damaging historic buildings as well as warehouses and factories, officials said.

An old tower was damaged in Finale Emilia.

The earthquake, with a magnitude of 6.0 according to the United States Geological Survey, crumbled church roofs and Renaissance-era towers, officials said. Large cracks rippled through apartment blocks and villas in dozens of small towns, leaving scores homeless.

Three men working the night shift in different factories on the outskirts of the small town of Sant’Agostino died when the buildings in which they were working collapsed. Another was killed outside of Bondeno.

Giovanni Gregori, an earthquake expert with Italy’s national research council, said on Sky News Italia that given the magnitude of the quake, the death toll “could have been much worse.”

Many areas of Italy are considered to be at high risk for earthquakes. A quake in 1976 killed nearly a thousand people in Friuli Venezia Giulia, and almost 3,000 died in the Campania earthquake of 1980. Three years ago, an earthquake in the area of L’Aquila, in central Italy, killed more than 300 people. While rebuilding has advanced in many villages in the region, the historic center of L’Aquila itself remains a ghost town and there has been public outcry over delays in reconstruction there.

But in Emilia Romagna, seismic events of this kind have been more rare. Mr. Gregori said that the last quake of this magnitude in the area was in the 14th century. “For man, seven centuries are a lot, for nature it is nothing,” he said.

“We’re not used to events of this kind,” said Giovanni Morandi, editor in chief of Il Resto Del Carlino, a local daily newspaper.

Minor aftershocks were felt in the region Sunday morning, and many churches canceled services. The main quake was felt as far away as Liguria on the country’s western coast and Friuli Venezia Giulia in the east.

Areas in some of the hardest-hit towns were cordoned off while officials expressed concern about the stability of some historic towers. After an initial survey of the area’s culturally relevant monuments and churches, the Italian Culture Ministry said in a note that the damage had been “extensive. Ministry experts were working with civil protection agency officials and firefighters to monitor the situation, and three state museums in Ferrara had been closed, the ministry said.

Meanwhile, engineers and surveyors traveled through the area, monitoring roads and bridges, according to Stefano Vaccari, the lawmaker who oversees the civil protection agency for the Province of Modena.

Officials said that schools would be closed for several days, and that dormitories, some with up to 1000 beds, would be set up in various towns for those in need of shelter.

This article has been revised to reflect the following correction:

Correction: May 20, 2012

An earlier version of this article referred incorrectly to the location of two regions in Italy. Liguria is on the country’s west coast, not east and Friuli Venezia Giulia is in Italy’s east, not west.

This is just MY input...this area has been rocking for some time now...the 5.4 EQ (and others) that even I felt in January was in that area... rare, indeed! Pfffff!

[MorningSong]

EMSC reports it to have been Mag 6.1:


Magnitude Mw 6.1
Region NORTHERN ITALY
Date time 2012-05-20 02:03:53.0 UTC
Location 44.90 N ; 11.24 E
Depth 10 km

Distances 173 km E Milan (pop 1,306,661 ; local time 04:03:53.0 2012-05-20)
30 km W Ferrara (pop 131,771 ; local time 04:03:53.0 2012-05-20)
7 km NW Finale emilia (pop 15,337 ; local time 04:03:53.0 2012-05-20)

At the link you can read testimonies (some are in English.... kinda)

http://www.emsc-csem.org/Earthquake/earthquake.php?id=267440

[MorningSong]

INGV has the map of the area :

http://cnt.rm.ingv.it/data_id/8222913230/map_loc_t.jpg

http://cnt.rm.ingv.it/data_id/8222913230/event.html

[seko]

Northern Italy is still shaking, I just saw another EQ of magnitude 5.1. today.

[Mu2143]

I had a dream about a week ago about a place where I wanted to go or it was my mom who wanted to go there I don't remember all the details , but what I saw on the map in my dream is seeing earth quakes hitting around that area first small then around M5 and then around M11.

Just wanted to share this ,because today my mom talked about wanted to go to italy if she had a trailer.(This was around 11:00 am )

------------------
Post update
I just remembered I had this dream when we had the super moon on May 6th.

[MorningSong]

Yes, at 15:18 local time (13:18 UTC) there was another strong quake: 5.1 Mag. Many more buildings have fallen. There is a lot of damage to antique structures.

[Mu2143]

Historic Seismicity
http://neic.usgs.gov/neis/bulletin/neic_b0009tu7_s.jpg
http://neic.usgs.gov/neis/bulletin/neic_b0009tu7_s.jpg

[lizmac]

I'm in this area and the ground is STILL shaking, got woken around 08.30 this morning by the house shuddering, felt another smaller "bump" around 12.30, its been a pretty stressful week, people are just not used to this sort of continuous sismic activity, many are sleeping in their cars at night for fear of another big shake.

[DreamsInDigital]

Mount Etna has woken up from her slumber. Not to mention likely could also be related to the other Volcano in the area Santorini.

[nearing]

And ANOTHER 6 in Japan!