2009 L'Aquila earthquake
2009 CE.
Shown on the map at 42.334°, 13.334°.
An earthquake occurred in the region of Abruzzo, in southern Italy, at 03:32 CEST (01:32 UTC) on 6 April 2009. It measured 6.3 on the moment magnitude scale and 5.8 or 5.9 on the Richter scale; its epicentre was near L'Aquila, the capital of Abruzzo, which together with surrounding villages suffered the most damage. There were several thousand foreshocks and aftershocks since December 2008, more than thirty of which had a Richter magnitude greater than 3.5. The earthquake was felt throughout central Italy. 308 people are known to have died, making it the deadliest earthquake to hit Italy since the 1980 Irpinia earthquake. In a subsequent inquiry of the handling of the disaster, seven members of the Italian National Commission for the Forecast and Prevention of Major Risks were accused of giving "inexact, incomplete and contradictory" information about the danger of the tremors prior to the main quake. On 22 October 2012, six scientists and one ex-government official were convicted of multiple manslaughter for downplaying the likelihood of a major earthquake six days before it took place.
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