L’Aquila: a disaster that could be avoided
I thank all the people who, knowing I was in Italy in these days, contacted me in various ways asking if I was all right and had been touched in any way by the earthquake just happened in Central Italy. I am well, and as a matter of fact I am more than 400 miles away from the center of the disaster. But I was abruptly introduced to the fact that something bad happened yesterday when I went to visit an old friend and business partner in the center of Milan and I met him just as he was rushing out of the door with a bright orange coverall rushing down to L’Aquila to provide assistance as part of an emergency rescue team.
The scene is bad not just because some people lost their lives and their homes, but because all of this had been announced days before and actually people had already left their homes on Sunday expecting it to happen and then were sent back by some official who was convinced to was a false alarm. This area has been prone to earthquakes for ages. It is a mountain area right at the center of Italy, surrounded by high mountains and with a very active underground. There is a earthquake prevention center right next to it and an Italian researcher, Giampaolo Giuliani, had developed a special device that is able to detect the presence of too much radon gas, which usually indicates breaks in the crust, and had warned about a possible major earthquake already a week ago.
The fact is that there had been many smaller seismic actions in the last two months and people had gotten their nerve on edge about the constant alert and finally they waited the major event on Monday, and it came in a very minor intensity so many though the danger was over while it wasn’t.
Experts say it is impossible to actually predict when a major earthquake takes place, yet this disaster tells us a lesson: when you know danger is possible always be on the watch. Alertness is a key ingredient in life and freedom. And this is true of any kind of activity and endeavor.
Roberto Mazzoni
The picture of L’Aquila that you see above, surrounded by the mountains was taken from the following site: www.abruzzoguidaturismo.it
Please read more of my blog posts on my new blog that has been created to host all of my content and that will be kept updated regularly from now on. Commodoreblack.com was my first blog ever and I owe it my beginning in this beautiful blogging world, but with experience I learned that it was better for me ton create a blog that carried my own name. And I advise you to do the same if you ever plan to start a blog.
