L'Aquila Earthquake

You'll have to pardon the somber post on this topic. Some of you may have heard about the 6.3 (or 5.8 depending on which country you're in) magnitude earthquake that hit the central part of Italy on April 6th. The epicenter was in the region of Abruzzo, where I spent 13 months of my mission. The city nearest the epicenter was L'Aquila where I served for 4 and a half months. Although a few members lost their homes, no one was injured that I knew while I was there. The city however, particularly the historic center where I spent a lot of time contacting and speaking with people, was damaged quite a bit. These pictures from my mission were all taken in the summer of 2002 - so disregard my smaller size. I was 20!

This is a 13th century church built by a Pope who was from this city. Part of the nave (in the back) crumbled.

Overlooking the city from a monastery on the hill.
This is another church - from the Renaissance period, San Bernardino. The bell tower (you can't see it here from the angle) at this church collapsed.

The view from our apartment. We lived just on the edge of the historical center. In this direction is the hospital that partially collapsed - and where they attempted to treat the injured.

Like I said before, I'm glad no one I knew was hurt, but the earthquake killed 290 people and left much of the city in shambles. 10-15,000 buildings were damaged with most of them being inhospitable. nearly 50,000 homeless. Some of the surrounding communities (old hilltop towns) were basically flattened. The area is known for seismic activity, but hasn't had a major quake since the 1700s. I'm very sad for all the people in that area. They have already been through a lot and the recovery will be a long, painful process.