Italy is stronger than any
earthquake and a quake decree must be passed as soon as possible
to free up resources to repair the damage from two powerful
tremors Wednesday night as well as the August 24 trembler that
killed almost 300 people, Premier Matteo Renzi said on visiting
the quake zone Thursday.
Renzi said on visiting this Marche town that was partially
destroyed by a 5.9 tremor Wednesday night that "the quake is
putting us to a stiff test but Italy is there, it doesn't leave
its citizens on their own, we are strong and we'll make it".
Renzi said that "we urge parliament, in the full respect
for (our respective) roles, to act as quickly as possible to
approve the decree on the earthquake because (it) provides the
resources and tools to get to work immediately".
He added that "a structural intervention is needed for the
zones hit by the earthquake - we must explain this to Italy, to
Europe, to everyone".
Renzi added: "Just as we are doing in Amatrice (the village
most affected by the August 24 quake, Ed.), we mustn't let the
focus on these places fade and the attention of politics fall".
He also said government has allocated 40 million euros to
areas stricken by last night's earthquakes, which left between
two and three thousand people homeless.
"Of course, that won't be enough," he said during a visit
to the areas where thousands were left homeless overnight. "They
are in addition to the 50 million we already earmarked... We
will try to activate the same virtuous mechanism we enacted for
(the villages of) Accumoli and Arquata (after the August 24
quake)".
Tents are not an option this time around as winter is
already setting in so alternatives must be found, such as hotels
or wooden temporary homes, he added.
Renzi brought President Sergio Mattarella's "embrace" to
the quake-hit population. He told residents of this town, which
was severely damaged, that "Italy won't stop, the entire country
is at your side". He said he had spoken to Mattarella and "he
embraces you".
The premier added it is "fundamental" Camerino's historic
university, among the oldest in the world, must "reopen as soon
as possible".
"Even if we are bowed, we can't give up," he said, adding
the university would reopen according to "procedures we have
already established".
Reconstruction must be swift and efficient, he went on.
"We must rebuild quickly and conscientiously," Renzi said at a
meeting with Civil Protection Department heads. "I am optimistic
that we'll be able to do so".
The first 5.4 magnitude quake struck yesterday evening at
19:10 Italian time and was followed by an even bigger one, of
magnitude 5.9, at 21:18. These were followed by at least 200
aftershocks, according to the National Institute of Geophysics
(INGV).
The quake was felt across the central Marche region,
including around the cities of Ascoli, Ancona, Fabriano and
Pesaro. It was also felt in the cities of Arezzo, Assisi,
L'Aquila, Pescara, Perugia, Rieti and Rome, spanning the Lazio,
Tuscany and Umbria regions.
Up to 3,000 people have been made homeless, two were
injured and one died of a heart attack.
Also on Thursday, Italy's energy authority suspended
payment of electricity, gas and water bills in the stricken
areas, and a European Commission spokesperson said Italy can
apply to the EU Solidarity Fund for last night's seismic events
as well as the deadly quake that struck its mountainous central
regions last August 24, claiming 298 lives and, leaving
thousands homeless, razing entire villages and causing an
estimated five billion euros in damage.
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