natural disasters

Current news headlines in Italy concern the 6-year prison sentence given to seven scientists and officials found guilty of manslaughter.

Tragically, a major earthquake hit Christchurch on 22 February. Much of the city has been destroyed, including about one-third of the Central Business District. At the time of writing, sadly 166 people have been confirmed dead, with the death toll expected to rise to 200. The quake has caused massive damage, estimated at somewhere between $10 to $20 billion. Possibly 10,000 houses need to be destroyed and 100,000 need to be repaired.

This is a statement on the Japanese nuclear crisis by some local militants. It was translated and posted at the new blog Fissures in the Planetary Apparatus.

On February 22nd at just before 1pm, a devastating earthquake, measuring 6.3 on the Richter scale, and just 10km deep, hit Christchurch, the second biggest city in New Zealand. So far over 160 people have been officially declared dead and that toll is expected to rise to over 200. The earthquake came less than 6 months after a destructive 7.1 magnitude shock, which claimed no lives but saw thousands of homes and buildings damaged or destroyed.