THIRTY-ONE Filipinos who were affected by the powerful earthquake in Italy Sunday are now in the custody of the Philippine Embassy in Rome and will be relocated to a nearby town, the Foreign Affairs Department said Monday.
The department said the 31 Filipinos were plucked from the mountainous region that was hit by two earthquakes, first on Aug. 24 and then again on Oct. 30.
“All Filipinos accounted for. All loaded on a bus provided by the commune… Transporting them to Perugia out of harm’s way,” the embassy’s Officer Hector Cruz said.
“The Italian Red Cross helped take care of them as well,” the embassy wrote.
Italy's most powerful earthquake in 36 years dealt a new blow Sunday to the country's seismically vulnerable heart, sending terrified residents fleeing for the third time in nine weeks and flattening a revered six-century-old church. / AFP PHOTO / ALBERTO PIZZOLI
The quake struck at 7:40 a.m. (0640 GMT) near the small mountain town of Norcia, unleashing a shock felt in the capital Rome, where the metro was partially shut down, and even in Venice, 300 kilometers away.
It measured 6.6 on the so-called moment magnitude scale, according to US geologists, while Italian monitors estimated it at 6.5.
The Oct. 30 quake was described as Italy’s most powerful earthquake in 36 years.
So far, Italy’s national civil protection agency said there had been extensive damage to many historic buildings but no fatalities had been registered some five hours after the quake.
This was in contrast to the earthquake that struck the same region August 24, when nearly 300 people died.
“I can confirm that there are no victims [deaths]. Around 20 people are injured. As far as people are concerned, the situation is positive but many buildings are in a critical state in historic centers and there are problems with electricity and water supplies,” the agency’s chief, Fabrizio Curcio, said in an update on Sunday.
Cruz was part of a Philippine Embassy team that had just visited Norcia last Oct. 27 to check on the status of Filipinos there, who were affected by the Aug. 24 earthquake in Central Italy.
Exactly the same place was hit by a magnitude 6.6 quake at 7:40 a.m Sunday (Oct. 30), sending the Filipinos scrambling to safety like other locals.
Many ended up stranded outside their homes, worried about being trapped in rubble as the quake toppled edifices, and caused an already damaged 14th century church—the Basilica of St. Benedict–to collapse unto itself.
“Now took over from the Italian Red Red Cross…Traveling with 31 Filipinos to Rome. They are now under the care of the Philippine Embassy,” Cruz said.
The embassy team finally reached Rome at half past 10 Monday morning (Manila time) and Cruz confirmed the 31 Filipinos are safe in embassy custody.