Civil Protection Department

Seismic event in Emilia-Romagna: updates from the Operational Committee

2 p.m. update

From last night at midnight, around 300 shocks, none of them over magnitude 3,5, were registered in the area hit on 20 May by a magnitude 5.9 quake, among the provinces of Modena, Mantova and Ferrara. After the first event occurred at 4.04 a.m., the strongest foreshock registered occurred at 3.18 p.m. with magnitude 5,1.

Rescue. The Prefecture-Utg of Ferrara has confirmed five deaths, besides two other women deceased following causes linked to the seismic event. Every operating structure of the National Service is carrying out the necessary activities to deal with the emergency. In particular, the Fire Department carried out over 2,500 interventions with 650 men at work and 53 means.

Assistance to the population:  Over 3,300 people were sheltered in Modena province and 900 in Ferrara, in equipped structures, hotels and houses of relatives and friends. Over 200 volunteers are at work in the affected areas, along with 200 volunteers of the Italian Red Cross and hundreds of local associations. Over the next few hours more volunteers will arrive from other regions.
Also, Marche, Umbria, Tuscany, Friuli and the Autonomous Province of Trento as well as the Association of Alpine Corps and Anpas have provided other modules. The ones of the Alpine Corps and of Marche Region have reached Emilia Romagna and by midnight will arrive the ones of Friuli Venezia Giulia and of the Autonomous Province of Trento. Regional modules reached the areas to assist the population. In particular, a module from Marche and one from Umbria will reach Finale Emilia; the one from Tuscany and two from Friuli will be placed in Mirandola; the one from Trento in San Felice sul Panaro is already operating, along with the six from Emilia-Romagna, displaced in Finale Emilia (two), Mirandola (one), Massa Finalese (one), Cavezzo (one) and Camposanto (one). Police Forces have activated patrols to prevent looting and guard unattended edifices.

Damage assessment teams: Technicians from Emilia Romagna and other regions are at work to carry out stability checks, coordinated by the Civil Protection Department. Historical centres of Mirandola, Finale and Sant'Agostino suffered diffused damages. Generally, damages regard historical edifices.

Weather forecast: Yesterday, the Civil Protection Department has issued a notice of bad weather for the afternoon and evening of 20 May and for the next 24-36 hours: heavy showers over Aosta Valley, Piedmont, Lombardy, Autonomous Province of Trento, Veneto, Friuli-Venezia Giulia and Tuscany.

Attention: Regarding the news diffused about the prediction of further earthquakes after the 4.04 shock that hit mainly Modena and Ferrara, si ribadisce che lo stato attuale delle conoscenze non consente di stabilire quante scosse e di quale intensità potranno ancora interessare la stessa area. Si rammenta che forti terremoti sono comunemente accompagnati da altre scosse, ma ogni previsione che indichi con precisione data, ora e luogo, nonché magnitudo di futuri eventi è priva di ogni fondamento. Nelle aree attualmente interessate dai fenomeni sismici, massima attenzione deve essere dedicata alla verifica delle condizioni di sicurezza degli edifici che hanno subito il terremoto e, in particolare, delle strutture strategiche, di quelle più antiche e vulnerabili, monumentali e di culto, e di tutte quelle che mostrano lesioni e danneggiamenti.