Italy stronger than quake, says Renzi

(ANSA) - Camerino, October 27 - 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.