BEAUTY and tragedy, the contrasting faces of Italy, came together in deadly fashion on August 24th when a 6.2 magnitude earthquake struck villages in the picturesque uplands north-east of Rome. At least 247 people have died. In 2009, an earthquake devastated the city of L’Aquila, less than 30 miles away. The lethal impact of the disaster is likely to have been magnified, as it was around L’Aquila, by houses built decades ago, if not centuries earlier, that do not meet modern anti-seismic standards. The earthquake presents Italy’s prime minister, Matteo Renzi, with new grief as he strives to win a referendum, probably in November, on which he has staked his political future.
Souce: Europe http://ift.tt/2bkKtED
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