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Quake has Italians Reaching to YouTube, Mobile Services

Seismologist predicted quake on YouTube last week

By Giulia Pisino and Francesca Papapietro, IDG News Service

April 07, 2009 — IDG News Service —

An earthquake today in the Italian region of Abruzzo had victims and concerned observers communicating through emergency use of mobile devices and reaching out for help and information via Facebook and YouTube. By late afternoon, the quake had rendered about 100,000 people homeless resulted in the death of at least 100 people.

One seismologist, Giampaolo Giuliani, had even posted a YouTube video warning last week (site in Italian), predicting that an earthquake of at least a 4.0 magnitude was imminent. Response to the video is causing controversy because authorities had told Giuliani to take down his posting and chastised him for spreading panic. Even Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi weighed in, saying that "earthquakes can't be predicted."

However, Giuliani said that earthquakes can be predicted, specifying that smaller shocks felt recently and a buildup of radon along fault lines indicated an imminent earthquake.

The 6.3 magnitude earthquake hit L'Aquila, the region's capital, at 3:32 a.m. local time, injuring about 1,500 people, according to reports as of late afternoon. The quake was felt strongly as far away as Rome, about 70 miles from the epicenter.

In the panic after the quake hit, authorities asked local inhabitants to avoid using cell phones when possible (site in Italian).

"Everyone is strongly urged not to use cars to get around and to use cellular phones only in case of extreme necessity to avoid overburdening telephone lines," said Gianni Chiodi, president of the region of Abruzzo, in a statement.

One student, trapped under the wreckage of university housing in Aquila, used his cell phone to give directions to rescue workers, helping them locate him and dig him out.

A Facebook network called Aiutiamo l'Abruzzo (Let's Help Abruzzo) has been formed to share emergency phone numbers and information about where to give blood and get medical help. About 90 Facebook groups dedicated to discussing measures that could have been taken to prepare for the earthquake have also been formed.

The region's technical infrastructure withstood the quake reasonably well, according to multiple early reports. No major negative effects on Web sites or telecommunications was seen, aside from some brief downtime for mobile communications. As of late afternoon, there was no evidence of viruses or phishing tied to the quake.