ITALY: NEW TREMOR HITS FRIULI REGION AS VILLAGER HOLD THANKSGIVING SERVICES FOR HELP RECEIVED SINCE LAST MAY'S EARTHQUAKE.

Record ID: 1061554

  • Title: ITALY: NEW TREMOR HITS FRIULI REGION AS VILLAGER HOLD THANKSGIVING SERVICES FOR HELP RECEIVED SINCE LAST MAY'S EARTHQUAKE.
  • Date: 14th September 1976
  • Summary: 1. LV Villagers rebuilding roof and men on ground piling slates. (2 shots) 0.10 2. SV Soldier drinking from bottle and other soldiers putting slates into place on roof. 0.19 3. CU Man of Alpini with banner standing in line. 0.26 4. GV Priest holding mass in open air with crowds watching. (3 shots) 0.53 5. SV PAN People in state of panic and camera lurches violently as earthquake occurs. 1.12 6. GV ZOOM OUT Soldiers and band leaving. 1.26 7. CU Man holding child comforts his wife. 1.33 8. GV Alter being packed up. 1.39 9. GV People in street looking at buildings damaged by earthquake. (2 shots) 1.50 10. SV Policeman half in police car looking at road covered in rubble. (2 shots) 1.57 11. SV Emergency control centre in tent with girl using field telephone. (2 shots) 2.06 12. SV Tent set up and people sitting inside around table. (2 shots) 2.18 13. GV Building wrecked by earthquake. (3 shots) 2.38 14. SV Wrecked car PAN TO people in street and crane. 2.46 15. GV Rubble from damaged building. (2 shots) 3.00 WILLEY: "The people of Friuli have suffered an inhuman devastation. Since the massive destruction of last May, these volunteer ex-servicemen from the crack Italian Alpine regiment have given up their holidays and weekends to help the Friulari rebuild their shattered homes. And it's been the most positive contribution yet. Whole villages throughout the earthquake area gathered to say "thank you" to the Alpini for their labour - a particularly generous gift because it was worth five million pounds in addition to all the building materials they brought with them. Every public ceremony here begins with a mass. Quoting the Bible, the priest was just describing how Christ asked his disciples what the people were saying about him. What happened next seemed to the deeply religious people of this area to be an act of god Himself. We found out later that the intensity of the tremor was as great as last May's, but its duration was much shorter. You can understand the cumulative psychological impact of this latest tremor - the 19th in the series. There was some panic. Those few seconds destroyed the growing confidence that people could now return to their homes, patched up by the Alpini. It was no use trying to continue the mass. Many rushed away to see if their families were safe. They saw new damage, as already precarious masonry had crashed into the streets. In just a few moments, much of the Alpini's patient rebuilding efforts had been wiped out. Police and rescue workers reacted quickly. Mercifully, the thanksgiving ceremonies throughout the area meant that most people were in the open air. Power was cut, and emergency control centres used field telephones to discover the extent of the damage. For most families it was a case of following the familiar, dismal trail to the tented camps where tens of thousands have been living since last May. The morning after, we saw just how severe the damage was. Even before this happened, the mayor of one tiny village told me that his total repair bill would be more than six million pounds. All the complicated procedure of assessing damage and compensation will have to begin again. Italian Governments have an appalling record in dealing with disasters. People here haven't forgotten the fate of thousands of victims of an earthquake at Belicci (phon.) in Sicily eight years ago. Hundreds of millions of pounds of relief funds ended up in the pockets of speculators and crooks. The people of Friuli say they are determined to resist the corruption and inefficiency of Italian bureaucracy." Initials VS 15.25 TELERECORDING DAVID WILLEY Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved
  • Embargoed: 28th September 1976 13:00
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  • Location: FRIULI, NORTHERN ITALY
  • Country: Italy
  • Reuters ID: LVAEKIAMSRH3NYSO2XMB95PFEMOL
  • Story Text:
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS - SOURCE TO BE VERIFIED
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2015. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
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