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More Terrifying Moments for Residents of Italian Village
Aired November 01, 2002 - 13:05 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN ANCHOR: There were more terrifying moments today for residents of an Italian village that has already been devastated by a deadly earthquake. Another tremor has shook San Zulia Dapulia (ph). It happened one day after a strong quake caused a school to collapse, killing 26 children.
CNN's Chris Burns joins us from the region there.
Chris, there have been some terrible reports tragically that the entire first grade in this village was wiped out.
CHRIS BURNS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Martin, up to now, the death toll stands at 26 children who were killed plus one of the teachers in that collapse of the school. So very likely that much of that class was wiped out, very, very, very tragic situation here, people crying and sobbing, and one woman trying to climb into an ambulance, trying too find out whether that was one of her children who were taken away from the wreckage of the school.
And at the same time later today, these aftershocks, and there has been yet another one in the past hour. Two hours ago, one measuring, according to officials, one 5.8 magnitude. That is just one tenth short of the original quake that toppled the school. This has caused officials to be extremely concerned about the historic center of this city. What are they going to do about it? They have evacuated it to determine how stable it is. Not only did the school collapse, but a number of other buildings collapsed. Two women were killed in two other collapses. And a number of buildings are cracked very deeply, and just teetering, appearing to be ready to collapse themselves, as they've been walking through the town today.
So a very, very terrifying situation for a lot of people here. The people in the center of town have been evacuated to a sports field, but it's getting cold tonight. It's going to be difficult for them to spend the night there. We'll have to see what happens -- Martin.
SAVIDGE: Chris, what is the government doing, aside from putting them up there in that sports facility?
BURNS: Well, they have deployed a number of tents, large tents, for those who were homeless, but at that time, earlier today, there were about 2,500 people homeless. Now, if they -- if this evacuation does stick, there could be many more homeless in this area, and that's why what officials are bracing for. Keep in mind, though, there are hundreds of civil defense workers, troops paramedics, all kinds of rescuers, and so forth, care workers, who are here, have been rushed here in the last 24 hours. The support net is there. It's just a matter of time.
SAVIDGE: Chris Burns, we lost you at the very end there, at least audiowise. We will continue to hope that the aftershocks will not get any worse.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired November 1, 2002 - 13:05 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN ANCHOR: There were more terrifying moments today for residents of an Italian village that has already been devastated by a deadly earthquake. Another tremor has shook San Zulia Dapulia (ph). It happened one day after a strong quake caused a school to collapse, killing 26 children.
CNN's Chris Burns joins us from the region there.
Chris, there have been some terrible reports tragically that the entire first grade in this village was wiped out.
CHRIS BURNS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Martin, up to now, the death toll stands at 26 children who were killed plus one of the teachers in that collapse of the school. So very likely that much of that class was wiped out, very, very, very tragic situation here, people crying and sobbing, and one woman trying to climb into an ambulance, trying too find out whether that was one of her children who were taken away from the wreckage of the school.
And at the same time later today, these aftershocks, and there has been yet another one in the past hour. Two hours ago, one measuring, according to officials, one 5.8 magnitude. That is just one tenth short of the original quake that toppled the school. This has caused officials to be extremely concerned about the historic center of this city. What are they going to do about it? They have evacuated it to determine how stable it is. Not only did the school collapse, but a number of other buildings collapsed. Two women were killed in two other collapses. And a number of buildings are cracked very deeply, and just teetering, appearing to be ready to collapse themselves, as they've been walking through the town today.
So a very, very terrifying situation for a lot of people here. The people in the center of town have been evacuated to a sports field, but it's getting cold tonight. It's going to be difficult for them to spend the night there. We'll have to see what happens -- Martin.
SAVIDGE: Chris, what is the government doing, aside from putting them up there in that sports facility?
BURNS: Well, they have deployed a number of tents, large tents, for those who were homeless, but at that time, earlier today, there were about 2,500 people homeless. Now, if they -- if this evacuation does stick, there could be many more homeless in this area, and that's why what officials are bracing for. Keep in mind, though, there are hundreds of civil defense workers, troops paramedics, all kinds of rescuers, and so forth, care workers, who are here, have been rushed here in the last 24 hours. The support net is there. It's just a matter of time.
SAVIDGE: Chris Burns, we lost you at the very end there, at least audiowise. We will continue to hope that the aftershocks will not get any worse.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
