Authorities dismissed the calls of seismologist Gioacchino Giuliani who warned that a series of small tremors were signs of a larger quake to come. In March, the man was reported to authorities and accused of spreading panic.
Giuliani based his findings on a growing amount of radon gas around the seismic activity. He concluded that the smaller activity was a sign of a larger quake.
The mayor of L'Aquila, about 60 miles east of Rome, Italy, forced Giuliani to remove his findings from the Internet. Meanwhile, Italy's Civil Protection agency convened a group of scientists to refute in an effort to calm the public.
Unfortunately, Giuliani was right. A 6.3 magnitude earthquake struck central Italy. More than 60 people are reported dead. Authorities believe as many as 50,000 people may now be homeless.
Source: Dozens dead, many hurt as big earthquake hits Italy
Source: Italy muzzled scientist who foresaw quake
Disaster Preparedness Consulting, LLC
Posts
Neil Munro, American Hero
11 years ago
