“It is a very big tragedy. Very sad. Being a former war journalist I am acquainted with death and tragedy, but what I see here is hard to believe: no war, but the city looks as if it has been ruined by heavy bombing. I have seen it in Gaza, in Kuwait, in Sarajevo. Now I see the same in my country. No words.” Tommaso Della Longa, Italian Red Cross.
The latest confirmed reports from the Italian Red Cross (IRC) working on the ground in the Abruzzo disaster zone is 179 dead, 17’000 homeless, 34 still missing and some 1’500 injured.
Despite managing to reduce the numbers from 50’000 to 17’000 of those in need of shelter, addressing the urgent needs of those still homeless, ensuring the provision of emergency health care and supporting the life-saving search and rescue operations remain among the pressing priorities currently being addressed by the IRC.
“Most important now – to provide shelter, food and water to people who have lost everything”
Tommaso Della Longa, head of communication for the IRC reports that “this morning IRC set up two more tent camps in the neighbouring villages of Sangrigorio and Paganica. Unfortunately some remote villages that have suffered are not easy to reach but we plan to reach them all by tomorrow. Most important now – to provide shelter, food and water to people who have lost everything”
“ I cannot but admire the spirit and dignity of the local people” says Della Longa. “ They do not cry, they do not complain, but everyone is trying to help, to reach relatives, to reach friends, to help, to support. There is so much dignity in what they are doing and how they are coping with this horrible tragedy.“
Volunteers at the heart of the operation
IRC now have 350 volunteers working around the clock. “There are many more people who would want to come and help, but we are trying to organize them in such a way that we could ensure they work in shifts. Our help will be needed here for a long time. Hard to predict now, but we will need volunteers for a long time, we must be able to replace them, rather than have them all here for the first days only. These 350 are coping with the needs so far, 150 are ready to join at any moment. We’ll need them here in two weeks, in three weeks and longer. Hard to predict now because we still do not know the entire losses and damage.”
36 ambulances, manned by some 150 volunteers, are currently involved in the evacuation of all injured people from L’Aquila to the Hospitals in Tagliacozzo, Pescina and Avezzano. IRC evacuated the Orphanage in San Gregorio and will take care of the 12 children who were resident there until the situtation is clearer.
“Three primary emergency units are working around the clock in L’Aquila” according to Della Longa. “The IRC has received and helped more than 300 wounded patients since yesterday morning and we have evacuated over 350 from L’Aquila hospital to other cities better placed to cope. We have already distributed 10,000 blankets and 5,000 more are arriving today for further distributions as it is very cold and damp in the evenings here”.
The national operations centre in Legnano is fully active as well as the IRC Emergency Centres of Verona, Roma, Potenza and Palermo. “We also work very closely with the Civil protection. We are a real team. The IRC, as an auxiliary to the state, is supporting all the efforts of the Civil Protection units” says Della Longa .
For more information, please contact:
In Budapest:
Margarita Plotnikova, Communication Manager, Europe Zone,
tel:     +36 1 888 4506
In Italy:
Tommasso Della Longa, Italian Red Cross, head of communications,
tel:  +393207979485 (English speaking)
Marcello Guerra, head of international (French speaking), tel:+393207979483
In Geneva:
Paul Conneally, IFRC Media Manager, Tel:  +41(0)22.730.4669
|  |  | | | The latest confirmed reports from the Italian Red Cross (IRC) working on the ground in the Abruzzo disaster zone is 179 dead, 17’000 homeless, 34 still missing and some 1’500 injured (ANSA Agency).
| | | | | | |  | | | “Three primary emergency units are working around the clock in L’Aquila” according to Della Longa. “The IRC has received and helped more than 300 wounded patients since yesterday morning and we have evacuated over 350 from L’Aquila hospital to other cities better placed to cope. (ANSA Agency)
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