- Title: Locals in quake zones take stock of damage, fear for their communities
- Date: 28th October 2016
- Summary: VISSO, ITALY (OCTOBER 28, 2016) (REUTERS) FIREFIGHTERS IN SQUARE OUTSIDE CHURCH FIREFIGHTERS PREPARING DRONE FIREFIGHTERS ACCOMPANYING RESIDENTS THROUGH CORDONED OFF AREAS AFTER PICKING UP BELONGINGS DAMAGED BUILDING / PILE OF RUBBLE OUTSIDE BUILDING RUBBLE OUTSIDE BUILDING VARIOUS OF FIREFIGHTERS OPERATING DRONE FIREFIGHTER REFLECTED ON SCREEN FIREFIGHTERS MONITORING DRONE FOOTAGE ON SCREEN
- Embargoed: 12th November 2016 11:33
- Keywords: earthquake Italy Visso damage priest
- Location: VISSO, ITALY
- City: VISSO, ITALY
- Country: Italy
- Topics: Disaster/Accidents,Earthquakes/Volcanoes/Tsunami
- Reuters ID: LVA00155X4JEV
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Locals in quake-hit Visso on Friday (October 28) took stock of their losses.
Wednesday's (October 26) earthquakes caused widespread damage and terrified residents in central Italy, two months after a strong quake left nearly 300 dead and razed villages in the same area, but no-one was killed.
Several people were slightly injured, but only a few needed hospital treatment, the Civil Protection Agency said.
In Visso, one of the larger hill towns hit, the mayor said most of the damage had been to buildings already weakened by the Aug. 24 earthquake.
The quake was a shock to a town that had started to work on rebuilding after the last tremor, mayor Giuliano Pazzaglini said, and the hours following it were full of anxiety for people in the border area of the Marche and Umbria regions.
Aftershocks continued shaking the area on Friday (October 28) and emergency workers used drones to assess the damage in places deemed too unsecure for rescuers to enter.
Some locals in Visso were allowed to collect personal belongings from their homes.
A local man could be seen carrying a cat who had disappeared when the quakes hit and the residents fled their homes.
Locals sought shelter in temporary structures as temperatures began plummeting in the mountainous area.
Visso parish priest Gilberto Spurio said many feared they would get divided from their friends and families if sent to temporary accommodation in other cities.
"There is the risk that people will become dispersed in diverse areas and communities and families get divided. It's difficult, I'm not sure what can be done about it but it is clear that the communication between families and friends needs to be facilitated should they get divided," the priest said.
Fiorella, a resident of Castelsantangelo sul Nera, the epicentre of the quakes, said she did not expect to see her hometown as it was before the quakes hit.
"It's terrible. It will take ten years to rebuild the areas. At my age, in ten years' time I'll be in a different area altogether," she said.
The government on Thursday (October 27) set aside 40 million euros ($44 million) for immediate costs related to the earthquakes, and Prime Minister Matteo Renzi visited the area affected.
Renzi has said spending under a plan to reinforce the country's schools should be excluded from European Union limits on budget deficits. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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