Silvio Berlusconi will pay dearly for that earthquake

[malaise]

The extent of the destruction caused by the L'Aquila earthquake is being blamed at least in part on a failure to make buildings in the area earthquake-proof.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7987772.stm
<snip>
Experts have pointed to the number of modern buildings that collapsed in and around the medieval city, and to a hospital that was badly damaged.

Italy seemed worse prepared than other earthquake-prone countries, they said.

Italy has a long history of earthquakes and there are existing regulations for protecting buildings against them.

The L'Aquila earthquake was the most deadly in Italy since 1980, when more than 2,500 people were killed near Naples.

After that laws were introduced obliging construction to be carried out according to anti-earthquake standards, says Thomas Braun, a seismologist at Italy's National Institute of Geophysics and Vulcanology.

'Good engineers'

But those laws are often quietly ignored, observers say.

"We have some buildings that collapsed in and near L'Aquila that were constructed after 1980," Mr Braun told the BBC.

[SpiralHawk]

1. Berlusconi handles disaster like a Republicon

[malaise]

2. In fairness to Silvio

he canceled a trip to Russia and was there early yesterday.

[nomorenomore08]

3. How do you say 'My Pet Goat' in Italian?

:evilgrin:

[mitchum]

4. Oh, his bimbo/cabinet members will make it all right

Gawwd, it's as if Donald Trump were president