In wake of deadly earthquake, Italy's prime minister calls on Renzo Piano to help reconstruction effort

2016-08-30T14:02:00-04:00

The 6.2 magnitude earthquake that hit central Italy on August 24 reduced the medieval towns of Amatrice, Accumoli and Pescara del Tronto to ruins, and has claimed the lives of at least 290 people. With over 3,000 people displaced by the quake's damage, Italy's prime minister Matteo Renzi called on "Italian senator for life" Renzo Piano to lead the reconstruction and disaster prevention efforts in response.

The current plan is to build lightweight wooden structures to house the majority of the displaced residents, and then begin reconstruction of the towns in six to eight months. Piano, speaking to The Guardian, spoke to the importance of government regulation in addition to rebuilding quickly: "Anti-seismic requirements must be inserted in the laws of the country to make our homes safe, just as it's compulsory for a car to have brakes that work."

Piano has previous experience working in "high-risk quake zones" in Japan and California, but admitted to The Guardian that working in Italy...

Italian villages destroyed by earthquake won't be able to be rebuilt

2016-08-25T17:45:00-04:00

The head of an influential charity in Italy has said that it is not feasible to rebuild all of the Medieval villages reduced to rubble by yesterday’s earthquake, as it would be too costly and the region has been depopulating anyway. Instead, the strategic plan for the mountainous area northeast of Rome should be “rethought completely”, said Paolo Beccegato, vice director of the Catholic charity Caritas, which has workers assisting in the devastated zone.

The 6.2-magnitude earthquake hit the mountainous area northeast of Rome yesterday morning, affecting 241 towns and killing at least 250 people.

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In wake of deadly earthquake, Italy's prime minister calls on Renzo Piano to help reconstruction effort

Italian villages destroyed by earthquake won't be able to be rebuilt