News

Notizie Avventiste. – This night, a powerful earthquake upset central Italy. Entire countries were seriously hit, with the death toll rising, and many injured. Many people are still spread out under the rubble of numerous collapsed buildings. The first shock with a magnitude 6.0 came at the early hour of 3.36AM, with the epicenter two kilometers from Accumoli, in the province of Rieti. The earth shook with such violence that the earthquake was also felt clearly in Rome and other cities (Florence, Naples, Bologna, and Rimini).

An hour later, two more strong shocks came from an epicenter in the vicinity of the city of Norcia, in the province of Perugia. An earthquake cluster followed with shocks up to a magnitude 4, which, unfortunately, have continued throughout the day.

“We express solidarity and share in the pain of the families of the victims to this recent natural disaster that has hit our nation,” affirmed Giuseppe Cupertino, Secretary General for the Italian Union of the Seventh-Day Adventist Church. “We are praying for them, for the injured and for all who are left without homes. We pray that the rescuers already on location may be able to save the lives of those still buried under the rubble. We also hope that the victim count does not rise any further.”

Amatrice, Accumoli, Arquata and Pescara del Tronto are the areas almost leveled to the ground by the earthquake. Rescuers are searching the rubble and, at the moment, the ascertained victim count has climbed to 124, 300 injured and thousands lost their homes.

Meanwhile, ADRA Italy (Adventist Development and Relief Agency) has offered its availability to participate in the rescues. “We contacted the Prefecture and the associations in the area to understand what kind of help we can give and we are waiting for their response,” explained Pastor Daniele Benini, representing the Volunteers' Association for ADRA Italy.

“We are thinking of making available our churches, which have not suffered damage, for future accommodations and, if necessary, we will offer our assistance in the care of children and the elderly who, as it always happens in these situations, need support and company,” added Pastor D. Benini, who is in charge of the church of Rieti and supervises the Adventist community of central Italy.

“Our faithful members expressed their feelings of fear and are greatly pained for the affected people,” affirmed Mihail Gravilita, pastor of the Adventist church in Perugia.

Blood is needed from all blood-type groups, a widespread request that came in the morning from the provincial AVIS of Rieti. Members of the Adventist churches near the affected zones, and every other citizen, are encouraged to donate blood, a concrete gesture of service and solidarity; they are advised to first contact the local AVIS office to understand what the needs are.

Relief efforts by the Civil Protection, begun immediately after the first shock, have slowed down because the aftershocks damaged the roads and viaducts. Some towns are without electricity.

Whoever would like to give a donation and support the efforts to help people affected by this catastrophe, can contact ADRA Italy or donate via the website www.adraitalia.org, filling in the subject line as  “Emergenza Terremoto Centro Italia”, via the following methods:

– Bank account IBAN: IT 95 E 01030 03203 000000866909
– Postal account n. 160 800 04, made payable to ADRA Italia – Lungotevere Michelangelo, 7 – 00192 Roma
– PayPal, made payable to ADRA Italia