The epicenter is in Medolla, in the province of Modena. Several aftershocks, two of particular intensity (5.8 Richter degrees shortly after 9 this morning and 5.1 around 13 pm), have been felt throughout Northern Italy, from Tuscany to Friuli, from Veneto to Liguria, even in Austria. The earthquake has already done at least 15 confirmed victims (many of whom workers died under the rubble of collapsed warehouses), all in Emilia, the region obviously most affected, where already on 20 May another phenomenon had caused the death of 7 people. 5 thousand displaced people.
DAMAGE – New collapses were recorded in Mirandola, Finale Emilia, Cavezzo, San Felice sul Panaro, and throughout the province of Modena, particularly in the towns already affected by the earthquake of 20 May; hundreds displaced, houses destroyed, damage to companies (collapsed factories), evacuated hospitals, offices and schools (also in Bologna, Florence, Genoa and Milan, where the earthquake was clearly felt); serious damage to the artistic and cultural heritage (several churches and the Cathedral of Mirandola have sold, where the parish priest died); problems were also detected on the cellular telephone network, while the Fs communicated the reduction in train circulation throughout the North, with a total block on the Bologna-Verona, Bologna-Piacenza and Bologna-Padua lines, and a slowdown of the high-speed lines passing through the capital of Emilia.
GOVERNMENT - In a brief press conference, Monti said that the government "will do everything possible in the short term to ensure the resumption of normal life and production activities" in the area hit by the earthquake. The president of the Emilia Romagna Region, Vasco Errani, added that "damage to businesses and citizens will be recognized and we will rebuild with a quick and simplified path". Interior Minister Annamaria Cancellieri is in Modena in the afternoon, while at the same time Undersecretary Antonio Catricalà will report on the situation to the Senate. Regarding the problem of schools, the Minister of Education Francesco Profumo explained that the government is working to secure the institutions that have had problems and to ensure that the school year resumes as scheduled on 17 September, even if it is the overall assessment of the damages is still pending. Federcalcio and the Municipality of Parma also communicated that it was the friendly match between Italy and Luxembourg scheduled tonight at the Tardini stadium in Parma has been cancelled.
