Timeline of Recent Earthquakes in Italy and What the Future Might Hold

By Francesca Di Meglio

Amatrice after earthquake Flickr User terremocentroitalia Creative Commons

AUGUST 24 – An unexpected earthquake devastates central Italy. People are awaken in the wee hours of the morning when a 6.2 magnitude earthquake strikes near Rieti, north of Rome. The towns Pescara del Tronto and Amatrice (home of the creation of the famous pasta all'Amatriciana) are among the hardest hit. These towns were basically leveled and remain that way for the time being. Still, property can be repaired but lives lost are gone forever. Families are forever changed. Nearly 250 people died in the quake, according to CNN.

First responders worked tirelessly for days to dig people out from under the rubble. While there were many tragedies, they did manage to save a few people, and it moved the world. Video of the responders pulling a 5-year-old girl out went viral. Later, we learned she survived because her older sister gave up her own life to save her sister. Another video of a cat saved 16 days after the quake hit was another favorite with those online.

OCTOBER 26 – A 6.1 magnitude earthquake strikes Visso. This time around people felt what they thought were small aftershocks earlier, so they had fled their homes and experienced the quake outdoors. While there was property damage, only one person died from a heart attack during the seismic event, according to The Guardian.

OCTOBER 30 – A 6.6 magnitude earthquake destroys the village of Arquata del Tronto, according to The Guardian. Reports suggest only two people died of heart attacks during the earthquake, but there are no other fatalities. Again, previous tremors helped to usher people out of homes and buildings. Again, there is an entire town brought down by the earthquake.

NOVEMBER 2 – A 4.8 magnitude earthquake hits Colfiorito in Italy. Those in the Marche region feel this one, but it is less dramatic than the others. As a result, a 4.8 magnitude earthquake actually seems like a reprieve.

THE FUTURE – Italy has a long history of earthquakes because of a fault line along its peninsula, according to USA Today (and basic knowledge of geography for that matter). Seismologists are warning that these earthquakes are related to one another. The original earthquake in August may have caused damage to two nearby geological faults, which brought on the other earthquakes, according to The Guardian. There could be a chain effect. The seismologists are confident there will be another quake, but they don't know when or where, according to these reports. Judging from social media, Italians as far south as Rome want the earth to stop shaking – and so do their family and friends the world over. For a time, #prayforItaly was trending on Twitter and Facebook.

Di Meglio has written the Our Paesani column for ItaliansRus.com since 2003. You can follow the Italian Mamma on Facebook or Twitter @ItalianMamma10.