Please pray for L'Aquila

[Walden]

There's been an earthquake in Italy, with 92 counted dead so far, and more than 30,000 left homeless. I am certain the residents of this area could use some prayers and any other support you might have to offer.

[devondancer]

Our thoughts and prayers are with them.

[cowtime]

Mine too.

[Coffee]

Wull do.

[tansy]

was just thinking of this and the horror our Italian friends are going through. may their night be gentle and the strength needed found to carry on.
tansy

[gonzo914]

A tragic event, to be sure, but should not prayer requests, since they presume the existence of a god to receive said prayers, be consigned to the Interfaith Cafe.

[anniemcu]

A tragic event, to be sure, but should not prayer requests, since they presume the existence of a god to receive said prayers, be consigned to the Interfaith Cafe.

Prayer does not neccesarily involve a belief in a god. It requires only a belief in the power of concerted thought and a focus of love. Not all who pray do so in any of the many names of G_D. No reason a request for a focus on the wellbeing of others be relegated to an obscure board when it fits right in here.

I lift my own for all involved.

[djm]

Prayer does not neccesarily involve a belief in a god. It requires only a belief in the power of concerted thought and a focus of love.

Like in Peter Pan?

Seriously, though, that's some scary stuff that went on over there. The ground literally opened up and swallowed whole roads and blocks of buildings.

Though we may question the benefit of prayers or well-wishes, perhaps we can, at least, spare a moment of compassion to contemplate those peoples' plight.

djm

[buddhu]

My thoughts and good wishes in that direction.

Looks like the Italian authorities managed a swift fairly competent response.

Hoping those casualty figures get revised downward and the number of rescued survivors continues to climb. A couple of students emerged intact just when people thought chances were slim of finding more people alive.

[s1m0n]

Prayer does not neccesarily involve a belief in a god. It requires only a belief in the power of concerted thought and a focus of love.

The 12 step organizations of the world have spent the past 60 or so years proving that you don't have to believe in anything to gain the full effect of prayer: all you have to to accept is that if there is a higher power, it ain't you. If you can do that, prayer works as well for you as for anyone.

[emmline]

Anyway, we get the drift, don't we?
There but for the luck of geology go I.
Here's to supporting what relief we can.

[djm]

Looks like it didn't take long for the acrimony to begin:

Rosetta Panaia, 52, was one of those whose home was destroyed. Her daughter's friend Angela died in the quake, she said. “She was so beautiful,” Ms. Panaia said as friends consoled her.

She was angry as much as distraught. “We've been having small earthquakes for three months and the government said nothing,” she said.

The earthquake, Italy's deadliest since 1980, left a political scandal as rescue workers looked for hundreds of people feared trapped in the rubble. Only last week, Italy's Civil Protection Agency dismissed a seismologist's warnings that the mountainous Abruzzo region, whose capital is L'Aquila, was about to get hit with a massive earthquake.

The seismologist, Giampaolo Giuliani, works for the National Institute of Astrophysics and was monitoring seismic activity and levels of radon, a naturally occurring gas in the soil, to predict earthquakes. A month ago, vans with loudspeakers drove through L'Aquila repeating Mr. Giuliani's predictions. The city government was angered by his warnings and forced him to remove them from the Internet.

On March 31, Italy's Major Risks Committee held a meeting in L'Aquila at which various scientists played down Mr. Giuliani's disaster prediction, saying it was impossible to predict earthquakes with any accuracy. Berlusconi visited L'Aquila yesterday and repeated the line, saying there was “no scientific evidence” that a quake was imminent.

Full article here

djm

[dwest]

I see the Pope is praying for the children, good for him, the adults always get too much attention, maybe this time God will listen to him. BTW Giampaolo Giuliani predicted the likely hood of a major quake, how does one prepare for such an event when there is no definite timeline?

[CHasR]

6.3
So Cal's most recent was 2.9 on 1/24/09, as far as I can gather.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rAj2PW5hTNg

[BillChin]

... BTW Giampaolo Giuliani predicted the likely hood of a major quake, how does one prepare for such an event when there is no definite timeline?

For individuals, stock a 3-day supply of food and water, a flashlight, a battery powered radio, a first aid kit. Have some cash money because electricity may be cut off, so ATMs and credit card machines may be out of order. Some travel with an emergency kit in their cars in case the roads become impassable and they are away from home.

Authorities can prepare by retrofitting the most critical buildings such as hospitals, stocking police and fire stations with emergency supplies, drawing up contingency plans if utilities and roads are disrupted.