All is Well

Don't worry: The earthquake zone in and around L'Aquila, in the Abruzzo, is almost 450 km south of us. We're just fine. Dolce Metà’s family is closer to the earthquake area, but only slightly, so they're out of danger as well.

The situation down there is about as tragic as things can get. The only good news is that emergency and rescue crews appear to have shown up almost literally within minutes of the quake and are continuing to do a fine job -- rescues of this type are one of the situations in which Italy truly shines.

The bad news is that the number of deaths keeps rising and there are so many injured that hospitals are completely overwhelmed. As of this morning, April 7th, the number of homeless had been "downgraded" to 17,000 (from more than 100,000) and temporary shelter (in hotels, mostly, but there are tent cities in each of the affected towns) had been arranged. All of these figures change constantly, however.

If you don't read Italian, there is decent coverage in the New York Times. Ironically, we've been getting most of our news from them and from Italian TV, because Italian newspaper internet sites are so overwhelmed with hits that the connection isn't reliable.

There are some images here, if you can get through:

http://www.repubblica.it/2006/05/gallerie/cronaca/terremoto-alto/1.html

http://www.repubblica.it/2006/05/gallerie/cronaca/terremoto-arte/1.html

http://www.repubblica.it/2006/05/gallerie/cronaca/terremoto-risveglio/1.html

http://www.repubblica.it/2006/05/gallerie/cronaca/onna-disastro/1.html.

If you're of a mind to donate, your local Catholic diocese should know something, since non-governmental aid apparently is being organized through the Church.

It's impossible not to sense the anxiety and sadness that's in the air but, I repeat -- we're not affected and we're fine. Spare a thought or a prayer for the people in the Abruzzo, because they are truly suffering. And get your home disaster kit up to date.