Story of the day...Tragedy in Italy...

Well, it's been a really busy news cycle the few days I had been off, but as important as other things were, they were overshadowed by the news of the earthquake in central Italy's Abruzzo region. So far 150 people have died from a 6.3 magnitude jolt that struck at night while the town of L'Aquila was sleeping, making things even more deadly.

The earthquake struck at 3:32 a.m. local time in the quake-prone Abruzzo region, which has had at least nine smaller jolts since the beginning of April. The U.S. Geological Survey said Monday's quake was magnitude 6.3, but Italy's National Institute of Geophysics put it at 5.8.

L'Aquila Mayor Massimo Cialente said some 100,000 people were homeless. It was not clear if that estimate included surrounding towns. Some 10,000 to 15,000 buildings were either damaged or destroyed, officials said.

Here's the before shot of the city ...


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and here's the after...



What makes it even more sad is the news that there are reports of a Italian seismologist named Guiliani (no, not that one, Giampolo Guiliani) who had been decrying a forthcoming earthquake based on radon readings in the area, only to be forced to redact his findings on the internet, which had caused vans with loudspeakers attempting to warn the city. The mayor and some scientists still dispute his methods and accuracy, but you gotta give some level of creedence.

My prayers go out to those affected by the quake.