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Italy seismic risks

Italy is no stranger to powerful earthquakes. Records going back hundreds of years indicate devastating temblors in central Italy that forced people to abandon their hometowns during the Middle Ages. A 6.3 earthquake struck L’Aquila in 2009, a mere 55 km away from the August 24 quake, killing more than 300 people. Two major earthquakes, a few days apart, struck Emilia-Romagna in 2012, killing 27 people.

Italy is a country with a high seismic risk. According to the Civil Protection Agency, Italy, in the last 2500 years, has been struck by over 30,000 earthquakes of medium and high intensity. The area with the highest seismic risk runs along the Apennine ridge, in the central-southern portion of the peninsula. This area, as the agency says “has seen some of the strongest and most destructive events that Italy’s earthquake history has recorded.”