Earthquakes And Earthquake Prevention

Earthquakes are such a common event in Italy. These earthquakes are caused by the subduction of the African Plate.
Only in the Alps and in Po Valley are the chances of an earthquake very low. While earthquakes of relatively low magnitude occur year round, more than a handful of magnitude 5.5 and higher occur every decade. The last two strongest earthquakes to hit the region were a 6.1 north of Bologna in 2012 and a 6.3 in L'Aquila in 2009, which is in central Italy.

Government building in L'Aquila

With such a frequency of earthquakes, people have been looking for a way to warn people of a imminent shake. Since 2007, early warning systems analyze data from a network of sensors in the ground and water of areas that are at high risk of earthquakes. The systems guarantee alerts about one to three seconds ahead of an earthquake within ten kilometers of the epicenter or ten to twelve seconds within one hundred kilometers of the epicenter. With this small amount of time, people can get to a safe location (under table, etc.), stations can shut down power grids and gas lines, tsunami warnings can be issued, and transportation workers can be notified as well as emergency responders. A few seconds can be the difference between being caught off guard or saving hundreds of lives.

For more information on the alert system visit:  http://www.itworld.com/article/2771545/it-management/italian-earthquake-spotlights-early-warning-systems.html
Major earthquakes and seismic zones

**Update

In 2009, six scientists and one government official were convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to six years in prison. The trial was on the basis that residents were told to stay inside because only a small tremor would occur. Well a magnitude 6.3 occurred, bringing buildings to the ground and killing 309 people. In November of last year, the seven men convicted looked to an appeal court. The six scientists were cleared but the court upheld the guilty charge on the official. Bernardo De Bernardinis, who was the deputy director with the Italian government's Civil Protection unit, had gone on a television interview saying,"The scientific community assures me that the situation is good because of the continuous discharge of energy," although no meeting had taken place to discuss such matters. He will still have to serve out a two year sentence.

http://www.livescience.com/48720-laquila-earthquake-convictions-overturned.html