Earthquake, so sad for Italy
 

Such loss of life, beauty, history is heartbreaking. I hope it is not as bad as it looks right now.

I hope that the news won't be worse tomorrow--no more fatalities, please.

We were in Amatrice this June, stopped to walk around and pick up supplies for a picnic. It's a cute town and really beautiful area.

I was close to there in May- such a beautiful area.

There are certainly many more fatalities. Four towns (Amatrice and Accumuli in Lazio, and Pescara del Tronto and Arquata del Tronto in Le Marche) are largely reduced to rubble, and hundreds of people are missing.

We're at our summer house, about 100 km (60 miles) from the epicenter, and we're still getting strong aftershocks. Fortunately, we've had no damage, but it's nerve-racking.

Awful news this morning.

bvlenci-- you were one about whom I was most concerned. I hope other travelers, recent and long term, check in.

So sad.

I too immediately thought of you bvlenci. I'm so relieved you and yours are safe. We've been unable to reach our many friends in Montepulciano where we stay every summer. I wouldn't have imagined there would be significant damage there given the distance from the epicenter, but news outlets here in the US are reporting many destroyed homes :-(

Me, too, bvlenci. Glad to hear you're ok. But how devastating for those communities.

Montepulciano is well away from the affected area. I haven't heard of damage or injuries in Tuscany.

dreadful news, bvl - but so glad you and yours are safe. I'm sure that we are all hoping that the eventual figures will not be as bad as it's beginning to look.

Isn't there a tunnel under the mountains near Norcia -- connecting to a highway that takes you to the coast?

I was wondering about roadways that may be damaged...making it even harder to reach those badly damaged areas

Hi bvlenci, that is what I was thinking too. But this story (seems to be sourced to just one person) indicates devastation in Montepulciano...?

http://abcnews.go.com/International/...ry?id=41606497

Just heard from Giacomo Stuart, owner of Politian apartments. He said the quake was barely felt in southern Tuscany. So... not sure why the above story is circulating, but happy to confirm it's false. Keeping all those in the affected areas in our thoughts and hearts...

And some people still believe that "God" exists.

Why is it necessary to insult people's religion in the middle of a tragedy?

Loacker = cloaca. Both are full of feces.

It wasn't an insult. Just an honest opinion. Get a grip, please. If you'd like to know what an insult is, simply look at Ackislander's answer.

One wonders about someone who feels the need to be a provocateur in the middle of a tragedy. No one else mentioned religion and surely you knew that your statement would provoke some response--do not be disingenuous.

Just saw the images on TV. Quite shocking. We have a lot of Itlaians or descnedants here in Belgium, so a lot of people have friends or family here.

Loacker has just proven the immensity of her imbecility , intolerance and his lack of concern and tact.
And of course such a person tries to tell the world (meaning himself) that the problem lies with the others.