Funerals for Italy's Quake Victims Begin

(NEWSER) - Rescuers today pulled a 20-year-old female student alive from the rubble of the earthquake in Italy, more than 42 hours after it struck, Sky News reports. "She's safe!" the woman's uncle told AP. She appears to be fine, except for a minor arm injury. As strong aftershocks rattled the area, the death toll rose to 235, with 15 still missing. Up to 25,000 people have been left homeless in central Italy. More»

Strong aftershocks, weather hamper rescue efforts

(NEWSER) - Strong aftershocks briefly halted the search for survivors and sent rescuers scrambling for safety in central Italy today, as the death toll from yesterday's earthquake hit 207. At least 1,500 people were injured and 17,000 were made homeless. One person was pulled alive from the rubble today after nearly 23 hours, reports the BBC, but hopes are fading for the 15 others still missing. More»

(NEWSER) - The death toll in today’s Italian earthquake rose to more than 150 as rescue workers and volunteers continued the search for survivors, the Times reports. About 15,000 buildings were damaged, and residents are being warned to stay away until engineers can evaluate them. “We are working without stopping for breath,” a Red Cross official said. “We believe there may be hundreds of people still alive underneath.” More»

Group met six days before L'Aquila quake, but raised no alarm

(USER SUBMITTED) - Predicting earthquakes is shaky business at best, but that detail isn't stopping Italian officials from prosecuting a group of prominent scientists over their failure to do exactly that. Six scientists and one government official face charges of manslaughter for allegedly failing to provide adequate warning of imminent disaster to locals after the region was struck by more than 400 low-magnitude tremors in the months preceding a major quake. The group of experts met in 2009 to analyze the risk posed by the seismic activity, but didn't find cause to raise alarm. Six days later, a major quake devastated the central Italian city of L'Aquila and killed 309 people, reports the AFP . More»

Along with dead, Haitians mourn loss of knowledge, culture, competency

(NEWSER) - As the shock over the inconceivable 230,000 lost in the Haitian earthquake begins to subside, survivors have begun to shift to mourning individuals—from teachers to tax collectors, schoolchildren to elderly priests, brothers to sons. As the New York Times reports, the police chief whose daughters died on the same day that 5,000 prisoners were freed by the earthquake is just beginning to come to terms. More»