Earthquake Ferrara, Italy : Extremely strong aftershock near Mirandola, Emilia Romagna - 15+ deaths reported

Earthquake overview : A very strong shallow earthquake struck in the Ferrara / Mantua / Modena area in Italy in the middle of the night.
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Due to the importance of this aftershock and the length of the present article, we have decided to start up a new one. All the information of today has been copied in that article + a lot more info will be added. Click Here to visit it!!!!!!

Summary 29/05 - 14:30 UTC - 15 people have died - 4 or 5 still missing
- Updating the situation.
- 15 dead with 5 people reported missing. At least 20 people have been also injured.
(of these all have been in the province of Modena - 3 dead in San Felice sul Panaro: two workers and a technician who were doing some investigations on the static nature of the Meta Industry building, 1 death in Concordia (an elderly person killed by a falling cornice (a common way of death during earthquake, where fancy cornices and non-structural elements fall on people), 1 death in Finale, 1 death of the pastor of Rovereto nel Novi, Don Ivan Martini, the victim of falling debris, 2 women died in Cavezzo. 1 woman died buried beneath the rubble of Furniture Malavasi, 2 dead in the rubble of the factory Bbg San Giacomo Roncole in Mirandola, 1 male worker died by crushing through the collapse of the Haemotronic factory (they produce medical equipment).
- 6000 people are homeless as a result of this earthquake.
- Much damage has occurred to cathedrals, buildings and other infrastructure.
- The price tag is expected to equal that of the previous quake on 20 May or even exceed it.
- Further aftershocks have caused damage.

Summary 29/05 - 11:40 UTC - 12 deaths reported. 3 major aftershocks.
It can be expected that further large aftershocks will occur in the area, given this sequence of events. We urge Italians to stay off their mobile phones and to use internet resources instead to help emergency crews.

Summary 29/05 - 11:35 UTC - 11 deaths reported. 3 major aftershocks.
A twitter photo shows the devastation at Cavezzo where it is presumed that 75% of the houses have been damaged.

The devastation of Cavezzo (from Twitter).

Summary 29/05 - 11:31 UTC - 11 deaths reported.
San Possidonio will be the most affected town in this area due to these 2 new quakes. The town has about 3828 people.

Summary 29/05 - 11:30 UTC - 11 deaths reported.
Here are the details from INGV of the 2 latest quakes. In addition, our felt reports have shown that these quakes have been felt stronger in some locations.
Magnitude: 5.3
Depth: 6.8km
Region: Pianura Padana Emiliana
Provinces: MODENA,MANTOVA,REGGIO NELLEMILIA
Closest towns: San Possidonio

Magnitude: 5.1
Depth: 11km
Region: Pianura_padana_emiliana
Provinces: MODENA,REGGIO NELL”EMILIA,MANTOVA
Closest towns:

Summary 29/05 - 11:25 UTC - 11 deaths reported.
Latest aftershock has caused additional damage - M5.3 at 6km depth. Then followed by a second of M5.1 at 11km depth. These were both located reasonably close to the mainshock and so will be called aftershocks.

GEOFON is registering the new event as M5.5, and USGS as an M5.6 at 9km depth.

In the very damaging Friuli events of 1976, 3 large shocks were also recorded, 1 in May and 2 in September with around 1000 killed in total.

Summary 29/05 - 11:20 UTC - 11 deaths reported. A M5.3 aftershock and then a M5.1 aftershock 4 minutes after

- 3 magnitude 5 earthquakes have occurred today. The depth of the M5.3 aftershock a few minutes ago was 6.8km, which is shallower and will likely have caused additional damage.

Summary 29/05 - 11:20 UTC - 11 deaths reported.
- A major aftershock of Mw5.6 has just occurred, we have been searching for additional info.

Summary 29/05 - 10:55 UTC - 11 deaths reported.
- At least 11 deaths have occurred according to local authorities. This is expected to climb in the coming hours.
- 1 person has been extracted from the rubble alive in Mirandola.

Summary 29/05 - 10:40 UTC - 10 deaths reported.
- The pastor of Carpi has been injured by falling masonry.
- All railways have been reopened.
- At least 5 workers are presumed to be dead in Emilia as well. There is at this point still confusion to the total death toll, but it is at least 10.

Summary 29/05 - 10:15 UTC - 9 deaths reported.
- There are still industrial workers under the rubble in San Felice.
- Two workers of a dairy in Piacenza were injured (1 seriously) in the storage of ripening cheese 'Aimi', for the fall of a large quantity of forms of grana padano from the shelves.
Riccardo Poli, Cremona, 20, resident of Castelvetro, suffered a crushed chest and he 'was delivered to the Civil Hospital of Cremona' on the danger list.
Laurentin Danut Popa, Romania, 44 years, has suffered a foot injury.
- Many new building collapses have occurred and the cathedral and the church of San Francesco in Mirandola looks as though it may collapse and is severely damaged.
After the earthquake this morning, new collapses were reported in Mirandola, Finale Emilia and San Felice sul Panaro, the provinces of which were already affected by the quake of May 20.
- There has been other collapses in the Rocca Estense di Finale Emilia, Modena, near the epicenter. The fortress had already been damaged by the earthquake of May 20 and the shock had destroyed a tower of Modena, the symbol of the town.
- The center of Cavezzo is extremely damaged where many historic buildings have collapsed and the roof of the church, already damaged by the earthquake last week has collapsed. For now there are no reports of casualties, but work is still being undertaken.

Summary 29/05 - 09:45-10.00 UTC - 9 deaths reported.
- There are nine confirmed victims of the earthquake in the Modena. 3 in San Felice, due to collapse in the industrial zone Meta, 2 in Mirandola, 1 in Concordia (an old killed by a ledge) and 1 in one to the Final.
The pastor of Rovereto in Novi has been killed, although it is unclear whether the victim of falling debris or an illness. A woman also died in Cavezzo, buried beneath the rubble of Mobilificio Malavasi.
- There have also been a undisclosed number of injured

Summary 29/05 - 09:35 UTC - 8 deaths reported.
- There have also been 2 very severely injured people who may not make it through.
- The Duomo in Mirandola is said to be severely damaged. A twitter photo shows some of the damage.

Twitter picture of the Duomo damage in Mirandola.

Summary 29/05 - 09:30 UTC - 8 deaths reported.
- A M5.8 earthquake has struck just west of the May 20 earthquake in Italy.
- So far 8 people are reported dead .
- 2 deaths in Mirandola, 3 deaths in San Felice sul Panaro, Concordia, Roverto sul Secchia and Finale Emilia.
- Much damage reported from houses. This will likely amount to the same losses seen from the May 20 quake, with already damaged structures having further damage. This quake will also affect further the cheese production in the area.

This earthquake is of course CATDAT Red.

Update 29/05 - 09:25 UTC - 6 deaths reported.
- Workers that were working on removing the rubble from the May 20 earthquakes have also been injured while working on cranes at the start of their day. Our hearts go out to all those affected.

Update 29/05 - 09:20 UTC - 6 deaths reported.
- A sixth person died in Rovereto sul Secchia, but it is unclear whether he/she died from a heart attack or the consequences of a collapse.

Update 29/05 - 09:15 UTC - 5 deaths reported.
- There have been 2 deaths in Mirandola - 1 by falling debris in his house and 1 in an industrial site.
- 1 death has been reported in San Felice sul Panaro.
- 1 death in Concordia.
- 1 death in Finale Emilia.
- 5 or 6 people are still under the debris.

Update 29/05 - 09:05 UTC - An update by INGV as to the location of the earthquake and the aftershocks as shown in red.

29th May Quake and Aftershock locations (more west than the original) courtesy of INGV.

Update 29/05 - 09:20 UTC - 6 deaths reported.
- A sixth person died in Rovereto on the Secchia, but it is unclear whether he/she died from a heart attack or the consequences of a collapse.

Update 29/05 - 09:15 UTC - 5 deaths reported.
- There have been 2 deaths in Mirandola - 1 by falling debris in his house and 1 in an industrial site.
- 1 death has been reported in San Felice sul Panaro.
- 1 death in Concordia.
- 1 death in Finale Emilia.
- 5 or 6 people are still under the debris.

Update 29/05 - 09:05 UTC - An update by INGV as to the location of the earthquake and the aftershocks as shown in red.

29th May Quake and Aftershock locations (more west than the original) courtesy of INGV.

Update 29/05 - 09:00 UTC Still 3 deaths.
- In Bologna, many people ran out to the homes and offices and took to the streets of the old town. Several university departments and schools were evacuated, where classes had just started and where students and teachers were very scared.
- Major train delays can be expected with major problems around Bologna Centrale.

Update 29/05 - 08:55 UTC
3 deaths have been reported. 2 deaths occurred on via Perossaro in San Felice sul Panaro. There has also been a third man killed in Mirandola in Via 25 Luglio. The victims were killed by falling masonry and structures.
We are still awaiting the fate of Mirandola, close to the epicenter, where a shed collapsed on four workers who are under the rubble and firefighters are trying to lead them to safety.

Update 29/05 - 08:45 UTC
- The shock came at about 9am. A M5.8 earthquake, the same as the one that hit 9 days ago.
- The magnitude 5.8 shock has been followed by 8 shocks between 2.9 and 4.0.
- At 9.07 there was a 4.0 degree quake with its epicenter in the province of Modena; at 9.13, an M3.6 with its epicenter between the provinces of Mantua, Reggio Emilia and Modena; 9.30 - a magnitude 3.2 with epicenter in the province of Modena, 9:38 an earthquake of magnitude 3.1 occurred between the provinces of Mantua and Modena, 9:39 a M2.9 between provinces of Mantua and Modena at 9:49; a M3.7 between Mantova and Modena; at 9:59 a shock of M3.3 in the provinces of Mantua and Modena, and finally, a magnitude 3.0 at 10.04 in the province of Modena.

Update 29/05 - 08:40 UTC
- PAGER is reporting a median loss of around $1 billion USD from this quake. Remember that the last quake caused around 500 million Euros damage around 200 million Euros of which was due to cheese-related losses.
They are also reporting a median 70 deaths.

- WAPMERR has reported 0-10 deaths, with 20-200 injured.

Remember these are theoretical models and are only indicative of the possible damage.

Update 29/05 - 08:30 UTC
- There are 850 rescue personnel on standby in the area and many ambulances are rushing to the scene.
- Schools have been evacuated.

Update 29/05 - 08:20 UTC
- 1 death has been reported from San Felice, in via Perossaro. A number of people have also been wounded
- Four workers under the rubble in Mirandola
In Mirandola, close to the epicenter, a shed collapsed on four workers who are under the rubble and firefighters are trying to lead them to safety.
- Unfortunately, people were at school and at work at the time of the earthquake possibly leading to new damage.

Update 29/05 - 07:56 UTC
- A lot of difficulties with Mobile Communications (ER : this happens worldwide when earthquakes occur and governments are doing nothing to solve this problem although this could be done rather easily!)
- People in the greater epicenter area may expect a big number of aftershocks again! Some may be reaching Magnitude 5 (based on our experience and the specifics of this earthquake).
- A lot of SAR (Search and Rescue) and Civil Protection is now in the area and will make rescue and damage assessments a lot easier than during the first mainshock.

Update 29/05 - 07:51 UTC
- People in the earthquake area are telling the press that the shaking can be called similar to the mainshock, which would not surprise as the Magnitude was approx. the same.

Update 29/05 - 07:45 UTC
- People in panic have been poured into the streets, leaving apartments and offices. We are now waiting to see if there has been new damage which is an almost certainty.
- WAPMERR, the theoretical damage engine, has calculated a fatality range of 0 to 10, and injuries at 20 to 200
- The earthquake was strongly felt in Bologna. For further shaking estimates, please check our experience table below. All the data below have been entered in our website by people living in the earthquake area.

Update 29/05 - 07:41 UTC
- A lot more damage may be expected as today's epicenter is different from last one and other localities will be hit directly.
- The earthquake was of course felt in large parts of Italy and even neighboring countries. Also Venice has had some shaking but certainly not damaging.

Update 29/05 - 07:36 UTC
-Earthquake-Report.com expects the town of Modella to be highly at risk.
- San Felice, already hardly hit on May 20 will probably have more damage too
- We also expect a lot more damage on older buildings and especially historic buildings who mostly have not been reinforced to resist earthquakes.

Update 29/05 - 07:30 UTC
- INGV, the Italian seismological service is reporting a Magnitude of M5.8 at a focal depth of 10.8 km.
- Following USGS, today's epicenter will be approx. 20 km from Finale Emila, the town which was hardest hit on May 20
- INGV can hardly be reached because of a saturated network.

Update 29/05 - 07:23 UTC
- The reported Magnitude is 5.7 to 5.8, which is as strong as the damaging earthquake from May 20
- The area has been hit by hundreds of continuous smaller aftershocks since May 20.
- The max. strength of aftershocks was M4 to M5, 95% below M3.
- Today's aftershock is by far the strongest and will be further damaging, without any doubt!
- USGS locates the epicenter near Cavezzo

Important update 29/05 - 07:10 UTC - Very strong earthquake in Northern Italy
Preliminary Magnitude is as strong as the damaging mainshock earlier this month
Epicenter close to Mirandola
We are currently looking for more details
Distances of villages and towns close to the epicenter :
The earthquake happened 2km from Poggio Rusco. The nearest populated places are: Caselle (20km), Camposanto (19km), Casoni (19km), Cadecoppi (18km), Staggia (18km), Gorzano (17km), Motta (18km), Entra (16km), Finale Emilia (20km), Villafranca (14km), Cavezzo (15km), San Felice sul Panaro (14km), Rovereto sulla Secchia (18km), Rivara (14km), San Felice San Panaro (13km), Medolla (13km), Massa Finalese (14km), Disvetro (14km), La Quiete (18km), Pioppa (16km), Pavignane (12km), San Biagio (11km), San Giacomo Roncole (12km), Camurana (11km), Sant'antonio In Mercadello (16km), Viarovere (17km), Mortizzuolo (9km), Bellaria (13km), Scortichino (19km), Mirandola (9km), San Possidonio (12km), Cividale (8km), Novi di Modena (18km), San Giovanni Battista (12km), Burana (20km), Concordia (11km), Quarantoli (5km), Fossa (8km), Redena (13km), Gavello (7km), San Martino in Spino (10km), Moglia (16km), Rangona (17km), Vallalta (9km), Pilastri (14km), Tramuschio (2km), Valle San Martino (15km), Stoppiaro (5km), Marzette (19km), La Pedocca (15km), Zambone (11km), Bondanello (13km), Malcantone (9km), Marzettelle (18km), Dragoncello (7km), San Giovanni del Dosso (3km), San Giacomo Delle Segnate (6km), Carobio (3km), Galvagnina (16km), Felonica (19km), Roversella (15km), Santa Croce (12km), Trivellano (13km), Quattrocase (4km), Calto (20km), Agnolo (6km), San Rocco (9km), Schivenoglia (5km), Sermide (16km), Villa Poma (5km), Magnacavallo (8km), Quistello (11km), Ghisione (6km), Moglia (14km), Castelmassa (17km), Fienili (8km), Castelnovo Bariano (16km), Zello (8km), Nuvolato (11km), Pieve di Coriano (8km), Carbonara di Po (12km), Carbonarola (15km), San Benedetto Po (17km), Quingentole (10km), Santa Lucia (12km), Bonizzo (11km), Revere (10km), Borgofranco sul Po (13km), Gorgo (19km), Libiola (12km), Bardelle-Camatta-Gorgo (17km), Mirasole (15km), Bergantino (16km), Brede (17km), Melara (14km), Correggioli (13km), Serravalle A Po (12km), Ostiglia (13km), Sustinente (14km), Cantone Giacomello (18km), Santo Stefano (16km), Cardinala (14km), Governolo (19km), Poletto (17km), Casale (19km), Nosedole (20km). The closest civilian airport is Guglielmo Marconi (49km).

Today's aftershock Experience Reports

Update 25/05 - 13:28 UTC
The misery continues for the people living in the Emilia Romagna region. For the second time today a M4 aftershock hit the area. Aftershocks from M4 or higher can create further damage to unstable buildings and the people working on it.

Update 25/05 - 10:46 UTC : aftershock
- 15 minutes ago, a moderate M4.1 aftershock (source Geofon) occurred near Mirandola. Local time of occurrence was 13:31.

Update 24/05 - 08:21 UTC : aftershocks
- The aftershock misery continues. We have counted 27 aftershocks since the M4.3 strongest aftershock yesterday evening. 3 of these shocks were M3 or above and will have been certainly felt in the epicenter area. This earthquake area has an extreme aftershock profile. This differs from earthquake to earthquake. We expect this pattern to go on for weeks and weeks, although they will certainly get bit by bit weaker. On top of the many weak aftershocks we also expect stronger ones from time tot time.

Update 24/05 - 08:15 UTC : shelters, inspections, funds, injured
-A total of 5,142 people have found shelter in the tented camps and temporary buildings of the Civil Defense. 5 camps have been setup in Emilio Finale (2,000 people).
- Inspections teams have made a total of 1500 inspections so far. The stability checks will be increased the following days. The final goal of these inspections is to allow people to return to their houses if there is no further fear for instability.
- 50 million Euro has been released by the central government for early intervention
- 2 workers have been injured during the last afteshock

Update 23/05 - 21:48 UTC : strong aftershock
- A strong M 4.2 aftershock occurred at 21:42 UTC (23:42 local time). Same epicenter area. Dangerous for already unstable buildings. This aftershock was the strongest one since May 21, 20:35 local time!
INGV, the Italian seismological agency is reporting a Magnitude of 4.3 at the extremely shallow depth of 4.8 km.

Update 23/05 - 07:15 UTC : aftershocks
- Even after the headlines disappear all over the world, the earthquake misery goes on for the Ferrara area people. We are still noticing a huge number of aftershocks. A lot of them can be felt by the people and are giving them a really bad feeling. Since midnight we have recorded 12 aftershocks above M2.0. 2 of them a 2.9 and a 3.6 will certainly have been felt in the epicenter area.

Update 18:45 UTC :
- PM Monti traveled to the Earthquake area today. He said that he wanted to see the damage with his own eyes.
- The Italian government has declared the State of Emergency in the earthquake region. Calling the State of Emergency was needed to allow financial support from Rome.
- PM Monti has also said that no taxes have to be paid this year as all money will be needed for the reconstruction.
- The Prime Minister was confident that the damaged Industry and trade would recover very fast from this disaster

Update 06:45 UTC : Economic Losses could total around 500 million Euros including the losses to the cheese industry
- 400,000-500,000 cheese wheels each weighing an average 38.5 kilos. = 19.25 million kilos of cheese (Grana Padano and Parmigiano Reggiano). The average lifecycle cost of a kilo of Grana Padano and Parmigiano Reggiano for earthquakes (averaged over all ages) is about 1 euros per 100g or 10 euros per kilo - i.e. for the producers.
- Thus the maximum loss expected for the cheeses is around 190-200 million Euros if the 500000 wheels estimation is correct.
- Additional damage to structures and other industry could total 250-350 million Euros.

Update 19:30 UTC : INGV, Unicredit, Helicopter overflight video
- INGV, the Italian seismological service has decided to strengthen its Emelia Romagna network
- Italian Bank UNICREDIT has put aside an amount of 100 million Euro to help reconstruct that damaged area houses and companies
- The RAI video below shows an overflight of the damaged area. Some buildings have resisted 100% and others just besides them have collapsed completely. The same kind of damage was also seen during the recent Turkish earthquake at VAN.

Update 18:15 UTC :
- INGV reports a couple of aftershocks who have been clearly felt in the earthquake zone. Local times and Magnitudes : M3.5 @ 18:32, M4.1 @ 18:37, M3.1 @ 19:25 and EMSC reports a M3.6 @ 20:02.

Update 17:09 UTC : State of Emergency, Bank provision, damage repartition in epicenter area
- If the central government calls the State of Emergency tomorrow, as expected by the local authorities, the measure will allow financial aid and assistance to individuals and companies
- The Banca Populare dell'Emilia-Romagna has reserved 200 million Euro for rebuilding purposes
- The overall picture in Sant'Agostina is that 85% of the industrial constructions have been affected by the earthquake and only 15% of the residential houses!

Update 16:25 UTC : strike, central government, jobs lost, PM Monti
- The scheduled strike from the farming workers for tomorrow has been canceled by the union because of the earthquake
- The central government has stressed that it will support the local authorities in dealing with all the additional work and damage compensation
- the CGIL trade union has estimated that approx. 5,000 jobs are at risk because of the earthquake
- PM Monti will probably visit the hardest hit area tonight

Update 14:25 UTC : Investigation into compliance with building code
- The prosecutor of the Ferrara district will lead an investigation into the dead of the 4 workers who were killed when their workspaces collapsed. The prosecutor will be checking whether the relatively young buildings did comply with the earthquake building code.

Update 14:25 UTC : increased shelter capacity, Tuscany volunteers, Council of Ministers
- The number of displaced people (mainly people who's houses have structural damage) has increased to 5,000.
- The council of Ministers from the Italian government will meet tomorrow Tuesday and will most possibly order the state of emergency for the hard hit Po valley area.
- 140 volunteers from Tuscany have arrived in the earthquake area. They are mainly helping with setting up new refugee camps near Modena.

Update 14:11 UTC : Finale Emilia, Lombardy, night in cars
- The mayor of Finale Emilia has said that he needs more help from outside his very hard hot city. Finale Emilia is together with Sant'Agostina one of the worser damaged areas. Both villages were very close to the epicenter.
- Roberto Formigone, the President of the Lombardy province has said that the damage in his province runs in the tens of millions of Euros.
- A lot of people who were not initially accepted in the shelters and who wanted to stay around their houses have spend the night in their cars as they were afraid for new severe aftershocks.

Child ina shelter - Snapshot from the RAI video below

Update 10:54 UTC : Pediatric clinic, Cultural heritage damage
- The Italian Red Cross has set up a special temporary Pediatric Clinic to support the needs of young mothers and children. The clinic will be setup in Finale Emilia.
- Damage to architectural and cultural heritage is "very significant", said Minister of Culture, Lawrence Ornaghi. It is still too early to give a final estimate, but in any case we are in the order of several tens of millions of Euro's said the Minister.

Update 10:36 UTC : Bank loans, additional shelters, early school closure
- Some Italian banks have granted owners of damaged residential and industrial constructions a delay of 12 months to get over this earthquake. Additionally they will apply a favorable policy towards reconstruction loans.
- Civil Protection has erected more temporary shelters in the hard hit Modena area. The new tenting will be able to accommodate 1500 people.
- Some local mayors will meet soon to get an agreement on an early school ending in the area. Normally lessons are ending on June 9. The main reason is that children can remain in the shelters with their parents and that in-depth inspections can be organized for the school buildings

Update 08:54 UTC : immigrant workers, weather, solidarity
- Tension in a shelter in Finale Emilia. A group of North African laborers and their families were not amused at all when they were initially not granted admission in the shelters setup by the Civil Protection. Civil Protection said that it is always giving priority to the children and the elderly. After some fierce discussions, everybody was happy again, as there was enough space for everybody.
- Part of the tension in the above shelter is caused by the rainy weather. Staying outside in the rain is horrible for everyone. One of the first elements Earthquake-Report.com looks at when an earthquake strikes is the weather at the time of the mainshock and the weather outlook. This morning temperature at Finale Emilia was only 10 °C and it is raining non-stop since early this morning.
- Authorities are asking all Italian people to show their solidarity with the victims of the earthquake. A plea in that sense was made by the President of the Emilia Romagna, Mr. Errani.

Update 07:54 UTC : building code, European Union, Insurance companies
- A lot of specialists are really surprised about the number of modern facilities (some were build in 2000) who collapsed during the earthquake, especially industrial equipment and buildings. The chief of Civil Protection told the RAI earlier today that this kind of collapses should be studied very carefully and that lessons should be learned.
The 2000 erected industrial constructions were build prior to the European EC8 earthquake-resistant building code implementation.
- People interested to read more about the zonation (areas where the building code should be enforced) of the EC8 building code can click here to read an overview document. More about the code itself can be found here. Engineers do find it a pity that the code has not been enforced yet on all European countries with a potential earthquake risk. The code is used by the European countries as a reference. The code is dividing areas into different risk zones depending on the ground accelaration and the historic earthquake patterns.
- The EC8 code was adopted in Italian law on March 30 2011

Update 21/05 - 07:24 UTC : aftershocks, PM Monti
- The area has been shaken by 18 aftershocks since midnight UTC. The strongest one being a M3.5, which will have been felt as a weak shaking by the people living in the epicenter area. Earthquake-Report.com sees aftershocks of M4.5 or higher as a real danger for unstable buildings. So after all, we can conclude that people must have had an acceptable night.
- Since the mainshock during the night of May 20 until now, 150 aftershocks were recorded. 90% of these aftershocks could not be felt by people, but were recorded by sensitive seismographs from INGV.
- Prime Minister Monti has decided to return to Italy earlier than planned because of the earthquake. After meeting world leaders during the G8, mr. Monti should have traveled to Chicago to take part in the NATO top summit. He now decided to return to Italy.

Update 22:41 UTC : Civil Protection, false Facebook calls
- The Italian Civil Protection has prepared 4500 beds for people unable to spend the night at home
- Malicious persons have send (so called official) messages via Facebook to call the people to leave their houses for the night. The Police and Authorities have informed the people that they NEVER called for such action. Police is thinking that people try to loot houses this way.

Update 21:36 UTC : scary for the night
A lot of people from the direct epicenter area have decided to spend the night in their car as they are scared for severe aftershocks. Shelters are only used for people who cannot return to their houses

Update 18:34 UTC : Anna Firs, an elderly woman of 86 years got sick at the time of the earthquake and perished in a hospital because of a heart attack later today. Anna Firs lived in Vigarano Mainarda. This brings the number if indirect fatalities to 3 and the total to 7.

Update 18:25 UTC : INGV has announced that they cannot rule out another severe aftershock.
In fact NOBODY IN THE WORLD WILL BE ABLE TO PREDICT THE TIME or STRENGTH OF WHATEVER EARTHQUAKE or AFTERSHOCK. As we said earlier today, aftershocks are normally weaker than the mainshock but this is only theory. A good example of this exception theory was this weeks M4.8 Aftershock at Timpson, Texas. The mainshock occurred 7 days earlier and had a Magnitude of M3.9!.

Update 18:20 UTC : Mantua, Modena, shelters, highways
-150 people have been listed by the Mantua authorities for shelter for the night. They are unable to return to their damaged houses
- Modena has installed temporary shelters for 2000 homeless people
- The regional highway authority was happy to tell the press that NO problems were reported in their regional network of more than 400 bridges, viaducts, tunnels, etc

Update 18:13 UTC : Rovigo churches, firefighter, cultural heritage
- Churches have been closed for further inspection in the Rovigo province.
- A firefighter who fell from a roof when the building he was inspecting during an aftershock collapsed is conscious again. Good news, but a further proof that these people are taking great risks to get close to unstable buildings.
- The vast cultural heritage in between Modena and Ferrara and especially in Emilia Finale has been suffered enormously.

Update 17:54 UTC : aftershocks, hospital, PM Monti
- We have just counted 64 aftershocks since the mainshock at 02.03 UTC
- Civil protection will be helping with the evacuation of the hospital in Finale Emilia
- Prime Minister Monti, currently in Chicago for the G8 meeting, has said that he will do everything in his power to cope with the situation. He is constantly updated by the responsible presidents of the damaged provinces.
- The Sant'Agostina area has suffered seriously from the M5.1 aftershock from this afternoon.

Update 17:13 UTC : anti-looting, missing persons
- Police have organized anti-looting patrols to take care of unattended houses and buildings
- The president of Emilia Romagno has said to the press that nobody is missing anymore, making it probable that the current list of killend and injured people will remain as it is

KEEP FOLLOWING OUR NEWS REPORTS - EARTHQUAKE-REPORT.COM is probably the only specialized earthquake reporting website in the world combining scientific information with human impact information.

Update 16:21 UTC : displaced people, additional damage after aftershock, power, animals
- Because of some cracks in Mantua's Palazzo Ducale, the fire department has decided to close the building for the public
- The number of displaced people (people who cannot return to their houses) is currently estimated to be 3,000.
- The M5.1 aftershock was responsible for the additional collapse of a still standing part of the Sant'Agostine town hall
- ENEL, the main Italian power company, said that besides some isolated cases, all users have electricity again.
- Misery for a number of animals too. A number of stables have been collapsed and at least a herd of cows and breeding pigs have been covered by the rubble. We expect more livestock to be in trouble as everybody knows that stables are often in a bad condition.

Update 16:00 UTC : prisoners evacuated, telecommunications and Railway line working again
- Italian Railways have reopened the Bologna - Verona railway route.
- The Modena province has asked the national government to take urgent measures to help the owners of damaged houses and businesses. An extension in time to enter tax forms isd one of them.
- The 200 users cutoff from Telecommunications at Finale Emilia have been reconnected
- 500 prisoners have been evacuated from the Ferrara prison. Some of the prisoners were maffia linked and had to be kept away from others because of testimony programs.

Update 15:27 UTC : Damage will be huge!
Earlier in this article, we have reported to believe that the damage would go into the hundreds of millions of Euro's. We will have to boost this damage considerably as a lot of factories and buildings may be found unstable to continue producing goods. This economic damage will be added on top of the structural damage to buildings. James Daniell, an earthquake damage specialist working at Cedim Germany, will certainly be able to produce a very good estimate by tomorrow afternoon.

Update 15:21 UTC : Strong aftershock
A M5.1 aftershock struck the epicenter area at 13:18 UTC (15:18 local time). The depth of the hypocenter was at 8.9 km following USGS. INGV, Italy seismological institute, reports the same Magnitude but a depth of 5.1 km.
These continuous aftershocks are bad news for the people in the greater earthquake area as they will go on for many hours and will last at least until tomorrow, meaning that a lot of people will have to spend the night outside their own houses. The aftershocks will gradually weaken, but the situation will be at least unstable for a limited number of days. The epicenter of the last aftershock was very close to Ferrara, much closer than the mainshock. Normally, a M5.1 earthquake is not really damaging, but in combination with already unstable buildings, such shocks will be capable to increase the amount of damage considerably.

List of the deceased (5 in the Ferrara province and 1 in Bologna province)
- Nicholas Cavicchi, 35, resident of San Martino (Ferrara) and killed while working in factory in Sant'Agostino
- Ansaloni Leonardo, 51, resident of Reno Centese (Ferrara) and killed in the same factory as Mr. Cavacchi
- Gerardo Cesaro, 59, resident of Moline.
- Tarik Naouch, 29, residing in Crevalcore. Mr. Naouch was killed in the Ursa factory in Ponte Rodoni di Bondeno
- Nerina Balboni, 103, got a heart attack when she was buried partly by debris
- 37 year old German woman died of a heart attack in Bologna (we are still searching for her identity)
Earthquake-Report.com pays his respects to the family of all the deceased.

Update 12:19 UTC :
-The President of the National Council of Engineers has said that all efforts have now to be invested in more earthquake-resistant buildings. He mentioned especially the need to further stabilize historic buildings, one of the main damaged building types during this earthquake.
- The President of the Lombardy province, Mr. Roberto Formigoni, has joined the plea of the President of Emilia Romagna to call the State of Emergency in the earthquake damaged areas. Mantua, another seriously hit area is part of Lombardy.
- Schools will be closed tomorrow as inspection of school buildings will take place

Update 11:31 UTC :
- The number of people killed directly or indirectly remains the same
- Fifty people have been reported as injured
- The body of Gerardo Cesaro, worker at the Tecopress company has been recovered from below the rubble
- Italian President Napolitano has send his sympathy to the family of the killed people and has also send words of thanks to the SAR people and all people involved in helping the victims of the earthquake. President Napolitano is constantly updated from the situation by the Italian Civil protection.
- Aftershocks are continue to strike the area. At 11:13 a M4.2 aftershock made it very clear that the dangerous hours are not over yet. Stronger aftershocks are very exceptional but occur from time to time.
- The President of Emilia-Romagna has asked the National Government to call the state of National Emergency for the area.

Image courtesy INGV Italia - Yellow star : mainshock - yellow circle : M4.1 foreshock - big red circles : aftershocks in between M4 to M5

Update 09:55 UTC : Mr. Gabrielli, chief of the regional Civil Protection has declared that the situation is "under control". Mr. Gabrielli told the press that he has overflown the greater earthquake area and that he has not seen serious problematic areas. Traffic is going smoothly, infrastructure is almost intact and damage is not widespread.

Update 09:47 UTC :
- Italian Civil Protection is organizing shelters for people who's houses have been damaged by the earthquake.
- tens of people have been injured during the earthquake. The devastation is not widespread. Only isolated houses and buildings have suffered serious damage. We expect not earthquake-resistant building methods to be one of the major reasons that such serious damage has been inflicted.
- The collapse, partial collapse and damaged historic buildings are currently visited by Civil Protection and Local authorities to become a clear picture of the amount of damage.
- Earthquake-Report.com is increasing the expected amount of damage into the hundreds of millions Euros. This amount not only includes damage to buildings and historic sites but also to the economy.

Update 09:23 UTC : INGV has reported 41 aftershocks so far, the strongest being a M4.9 at 03:02 UTC (05:02 local Italian time). 5 aftershocks measured M4 or higher and 14 aftershocks in between M3 and M4.

Update 09:15 UTC : The Mantua area was also seriously damaged. The church of Felonica in Mantua was damaged.

Update 09:11 UTC : Many people in the greater epicenter area remain in the streets fearing for aftershocks.

Important Update 08:56 UTC : The death toll has increased to 6 when a worker was found under the rubble of the Tecopress factory at St. Augustine (Ferrara). 4 are considered in earthquake terms as shaking deaths, 2 people have been killed indirectly (see below).

Update 08:47 UTC : Click on the pictures below to see more images of the damage inflicted by this deadly earthquake.

Images courtesy and copyright La Repubblica - Click on the images to see more of them

Update 08:35 UTC : The Chief of Civil Protection from the Ferrara province has just arrived at the Prefecture office and is now leading an assessment and operations meeting with his staff.
- Based on the many images we have seen so far, the damage will run into at least tens of millions of Euro's, probably a lot more. Some historic buildings have collapsed completely, others partially. Industrial warehouses have been damaged. So far we have NO immediate numbers of injured, but a lot of people living in damaged houses must have at least minor injures.

Update 08:26 UTC : To give our readers an idea of the extend of the damage, we have combined a "before" and "after" image of the Castle of Finale Emilio. The angle is not the same, but you can see very good that the towers have almost completely collapsed. Images courtesy and copyright of its owners, damaged castle from Gianluca Diegoli via twitter and the "before" picture from animoweb.it.

Update 08:18 UTC : The earthquake was also felt in the neighboring countries. We got I Have Felt It reports from the Alps region, Slovenia and the Cote d'Azur (France).

Update 08:09 UTC : 2 helicopters of the Italian Police are overflying the earthquake hit areas and are trying to locate and to guide SAR forces (Search and Rescue forces) to eventual collapsed or heavily damaged buildings. These overflying helicopters are especially looking for old abandoned houses were often poor families are residing.

Update 08:01 UTC : The Palace of Venice, an historic building in Finale Emilia, badly hit by the earthquake, is partially collapsed. The 11 people from three families who lived there were rescued by SAT personnel.

Update 07:58 UTC : It is still not sure how many people have exactly perished during this earthquake. We have counted 4 so far, but the number may increase slightly. Let us make an overview.
- 2 indirect fatalities (a 37 year old ill woman died probably of an heart attack and a 100 year old person probably from the same)
- a Moroccan worker died in Ponte Rodoni, Bondeno. He worked at Ursa, a polystyrene foam company, and his shift would end at 5. He was killed when a support beam collapsed on his head.
- 2 Italian workers were killed when a roof from a ceramics manufacturing company collapsed on them. Theur work shift would have ended at 6.
3 shaking deaths and 2 indirect killed people is the sad result so far.

Update 07:45 UTC : A 5 year old child was rescued out of the rubble in a collapsed building in Finale Emilia !

Historic earthquakes map courtesy INGV - earthquake in between M6 and M7

Update 07:32 UTC : The earthquake's epicenter was located in a area which has no damaging earthquakes since a long time. We have to go back to 1570 for a major earthquake near Ferrara and to even 1346 for another M6 to M7 earthquake at a distance of approx. 20 km from the current epicenter. From 2002 to 2008 6 smaller earthquakes (less than M4) occurred within a radius of 20 km.

Update 07:17 UTC : A lot of people are asking themselves why an earthquake with (only) a M5.9 Magnitude can inflict such a lot of serious damage. Not only was this earthquake very shallow (close to the surface), but one of the main factors is that the earthquake occurred in a relatively soft soil area. Soft ground layers are propagating the earthquake waves a lot stronger than areas with harder rocky layers.

Update 06:41 UTC : 2 earthquake of respectively M4.1 and M2.2 were precursors of the damaging M6 mainshock. Since that mainshock, INGV has recorded 12 aftershocks!

Important Update 06:39 UTC : We are sad to tell that a 4th fatality has been reported. We have also a few more details on the killed people. All of the death people are coming from the Ferrara area. 2 people died in a pottery factory in Ferrara. A third person died in the Ferrara Bondeno industrial zone and the 4th victim was a 37 year ill woman who died of an heart attack.

Update : The video below shows the damage to a couple of buildings in the Ferrara area. The shaking must have been very strong to inflict this kind of damage.

Update : The video below is mainly a picture from a damaged building combined with an interview with the Governor of the Ferrara province (in Italian). The governor talks about a lot of damage to bridges, schools, historic buildings etc. She calls the situation very serious.

Update 06:35 UTC : In San Felice sul Panaro, near Modena, the tower of the fortress collapsed. Another tower went down in Finale Emilia, and a nursing home was evacuated.

Update : Mostly historic buildings have been damaged in the quake. Click here for series of images from La Repubblica. Some churches and older buildings collapsed completely.

Damage in Northern Italy after the May 20 earthquake - Images courtesy and copyright La Repubblica - Please click on these pictures to see more of them in La Repubblica

Update : The 3 killed people are believed to be 3 farm workers in the Ferrara area

Update : The heavy shaking lated for about 20 seconds

Update : As what can be expected, everybody ran to the streets after feeling the shaking.

Update : A church bell collapsed in Ferrara, in Finale Emilia a church steeple was reported damage, in San Felice Parano a segment of a castle collapsed.

Update : USGS has upgraded the earthquake to 6.0 at a depth of only 5km. The updated PAGER says 73,000 people would felt a severe shaking!! and 178,000 a very strong shaking. Avery bad sign.

Update : An also strong aftershock M5.1 occurred 59 minutes later

Shaking map courtesy USGS

Update : The village who has been hit most (MMI VIII) was Camposanto, a little town with 3,000 inhabitants.

Update : GDACS reports that the nearest populated places are: Stuffione (20km), Ronchi (19km), Sammartini (19km), Solara (18km), San Pietro (19km), Cantone (19km), Caselle (16km), San Prospero (18km), Camposanto (15km), Palata Pepoli (17km), Galeazza (19km), Casoni (16km), Cadecoppi (15km), Staggia (15km), Gorzano (14km), Alberone (19km), Motta (16km), Reno Centese (19km), Entra (12km), Finale Emilia (16km), Villafranca (12km), Cavezzo (13km), San Felice sul Panaro (10km), Rovereto sulla Secchia (17km), Rivara (10km), San Felice San Panaro (9km), Medolla (10km), Massa Finalese (11km), Disvetro (13km), La Quiete (15km), Pioppa (15km), Pavignane (8km), San Biagio (8km), San Giacomo Roncole (9km), Camurana (8km), Sant'antonio In Mercadello (16km), Viarovere (14km), Mortizzuolo (6km), Bellaria (13km), Scortichino (17km), Mirandola (7km), San Possidonio (12km), Cividale (5km), Novi di Modena (19km), San Giovanni Battista (12km), Burana (18km), Concordia (12km), Quarantoli (3km), Fossa (8km), Redena (11km), Gavello (4km), San Martino in Spino (8km), Moglia (17km), Rangona (16km), Vallalta (10km), Pilastri (13km), Zerbinate (19km), Tramuschio (4km), Valle San Martino (17km), Stoppiaro (5km), La Pedocca (14km), Zambone (13km), Bondanello (15km), Malcantone (11km), Marzettelle (20km), Dragoncello (7km), San Giovanni del Dosso (6km), San Giacomo Delle Segnate (9km), Carobio (5km), Galvagnina (18km), Felonica (18km), Roversella (14km), Santa Croce (12km), Trivellano (16km), Quattrocase (7km), Calto (19km), Agnolo (8km), San Rocco (12km), Schivenoglia (9km), Sermide (16km), Villa Poma (8km), Magnacavallo (9km), Quistello (15km), Ghisione (9km), Moglia (14km), Castelmassa (18km), Fienili (12km), Castelnovo Bariano (16km), Zello (11km), Nuvolato (15km), Pieve di Coriano (12km), Carbonara di Po (14km), Carbonarola (16km), San Benedetto Po (20km), Quingentole (14km), Santa Lucia (16km), Bonizzo (14km), Revere (14km), Borgofranco sul Po (15km), Libiola (15km), Mirasole (18km), Bergantino (18km), Melara (16km), Correggioli (15km), Serravalle A Po (16km), Ostiglia (16km), Sustinente (18km), Santo Stefano (18km), Cardinala (18km). The closest civilian airport is Guglielmo Marconi (46km).

Update : The shaking must have been extremely strong with a max. intensity of VIII (severe shaking) which was felt by 7,000 people. 91,000 people have felt a potentially damaging MMI VII very strong shaking and 191,000 people a strong shaking.

The earthque happened in the heavily populated triangle Mantua, Ferrara Modena area.
The damaging earthquake occurred after another M4.2 earthquake took place a few hours earlier at 01:15 local time (see our earthquake list from May 19).

Most important Earthquake Data:
Magnitude : M6.0
UTC Time : Sunday, May 20, 2012 at 02:03:52 UTC
Local time at epicenter : Sunday, May 20, 2012 at 04:03:52 AM at epicenter
Depth (Hypocenter) : 5.1 km
Geo-location(s) :
7 km NW Finale emilia (pop 15,337)
30 km W Ferrara (pop 131,771)
36 km (22 miles) NNW of Bologna, Italy

Links to important maps
USGS Did You Feel It Map
Google satellite map showing the epicenter and the surrounding area
Historic earthquakes map
Seismic hazard map
Shaking map
Scientific parameters
Human impact map

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