• Earthquake in the L'Aquila magnitude 4.2, fear but no damage
  • Etna, the earthquake damage in the fractions most affected by the earthquake

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02 January 2019A magnitude 4.2 new earthquake occurred on New Year's Day in the L'Aquila area: "it is not connected to the sequences that hit central Italy starting in 2016, nor to the L'Aquila earthquake of 2009 ", said the seismologist Maurizio Pignone, of the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (Ingv).

For the expert, "we cannot yet speak of a new swarm or seismic sequence: it was rather - he added - a main event, almost single, with a reduced number of subsequent events, eight at the moment, of lower magnitude, the highest of 2.0 ". The earthquake, with its epicenter near Collelongo, about 54 kilometers from L'Aquila, covered an area, that of Marsica, with high seismic hazard, where about ten kilometers to the north, on January 13, 1915 a earthquake of magnitude 7.0 that caused more than 30,000 victims. For Pignone, the shock recorded on New Year's Day by the national seismic network of the Ingv, "had a hypocenter at about 17 kilometers": a depth, he said, "to which a shock of magnitude 4.2 generally does no harm".

Mayor: 'no significant damage, only some cracks on the floors and partitions of some homes'
"We also have a first positive result on the verifications that were carried out this night by the Fire Brigade: there are no significant damage, but only some cracks on the floors and partitions of some houses. We are monitoring the situation together with the Forces of order, to the men of the Fire Brigade and Civil Protection ". Thus the mayor of Collelongo (L'Aquila), Rossana Salucci, takes stock of the situation after the earthquake.

"There have been several aftershocks during the night, the fear is evident on the faces of the citizens, but slowly we are returning to normal. Now the weather alert spread by the Civil Protection scares us, heavy snowfalls are expected and we are gearing up for being able to respond better ". Meanwhile, the Municipal Operations Center (COC) remains active, as well as the emergency dormitories set up by Red Cross volunteers inside the elementary school

No damage to viaducts A24-A25
There is no damage in the viaducts of the Lazio and Abruzzo motorways A24 and A25 after the earthquake. This is the result of checks carried out by the traffic auxiliaries of the Strada dei Parchi dealer. The spa sources of the Abruzzo entrepreneur group Carlo Toto know it. In particular, the most thorough checks were reserved in the motorway infrastructures of Avezzano, Celano and Pescina, the sections closest to the Marsican municipality. In a post on Facebook, the concessionaire company stresses however that the two motorways are open and that the checks under the viaducts continue and there will be new updates.

Railway network checks
Technical checks also on the railways affected by the seismic shock. The circulation of trains on the Rome - Avezzano - Sulmona - Pescara, Avezzano - Roccasecca and Sulmona - L'Aquila lines is therefore suspended for the necessary checks by the Italian railway network technicians (Fs Italiane Group). No train is stopped in line.

Quiet night in Collelongo
Only a few elderly people spent the night inside the comprehensive institute of Collelongo (L'Aquila), made available by the Municipality following the shock of 7.37 pm of magnitude 4.2, which triggered the first day of the year the earthquake alert in the municipalities of Marsica.

Preparations are well underway for Sant'Antonio Abate
Despite the moments of fear experienced last night, the population of Collelongo is preparing to celebrate Sant'Antonio Abate, one of the most heartfelt celebrations of peasant communities. At dusk on January 16th, in old houses with large fireplaces, the fire is lit and the "cicerocchi" (cooked corn) are cooked in the "cottore" (large copper boilers). A characteristic element of the festival is the presence in the two main squares of the town of "torcioni", enormous torches made of sectioned oak trunk and filled with dry wood. The fires burning in the night dedicated to the cult of Sant'Antonio Abate represent a prayer to the Saint, to protect the community from the burning of the stables.