Flags will fly at half-staff Saturday on all public offices and a state funeral will be celebrated by a bishop in a gym in Ascoli Piceno for the victims of nearby Arquata del Tronto.
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Some 387 injured people were hospitalized across Lazio, Marche, and Abruzzo regions. In a statement released, Minister of Foreign Affairs Stéphane Dion extended his condolences to the family and friends of the Canadian who died.
Two officers from Pescara del Tronto, Matteo and Liborio posted a video to Twitter that explained how Leo, a black labrador, helped rescue an 8-year-old girl named Georgia who was trapped for 16 hours in the ruins of her home.
Fabrizio Rocchetti lives close to the town and said his home was saved as Amatrice crumbled.
Mattarella was guided by town mayor, Sergio Pirozzi, who showed him the extent of the damage.
A 6.2-magnitude natural disaster shook Italy’s mountainous regions of Umbria, Lazio and Le Marche in the early hours of Wednesday, causing extensive damage, with around 650 aftershocks continuing for 48 hours.
On Wednesday, British celebrity chef Oliver leant his support to the campaign by saying the 700 chefs at his restaurants would be cooking pasta all’amatriciana and donating £2 for every one sold to the fund.
The area is popular with vacationers and local authorities were struggling to pin down how many visitors were present when the quake hit.
At least eight foreigners were among the dead, according to updates from foreign ministries. Italy has a large Romanian community, and some of the victims were residents in the country.
Renzi has declared a state of emergency and authorized $56 million for immediate quake relief.
But he also said that it was “absurd” to think that Italy could build completely quake-proof buildings.
“We want those communities to have the chance of a future and not just memories”, he told reporters in Rome on Thursday.
Italy has a poor record of rebuilding after quakes.
Renzi called for national unity and declined to predict when the homeless might be rehoused.
Oliver said on his Food Revolution website: “This could really make a difference, money will go to supporting the fire fighters involved… setting up of tented camps for homeless, and provisions of food and clothing as well as medical assistance… They always say the same thing – that they stand with us and that it must never happen again. always the same thing!” said one inconsolable woman, quoted by the news agency Agi. Rescue workers have noted that a person was pulled out alive from L’Aquila’s 2009 quake after 72 hours, or three full days.
Cultural Minister Dario Franceschini said all 293 culturally important sites, many of them churches, had either collapsed or been seriously damaged.
Italy sits on two fault lines, making it one of the most seismically active countries in Europe.
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Renzi admitted that Italy has a hard task ahead to secure buildings – and its vast collection of historical heritage – against quake damage, but said that modern technology could play a role.
