MOUNT VETTORE, Italy (Reuters) — Italian geologists on Tuesday (August 30) investigated a faultline that has opened up above the area of central Italy hit by an earthquake last week.
At least 292 people died in the quake on August 24 which caused massive damage along huge swathes of central Italy.
Groups of scientists from the Lazio, Marche and Umbria regions of the country, that were all affected by the magnitude 6.2 quake, are now working to establish as much information as possible from the event in order to avoid such a great loss of life in the future.
The huge faultline has been mapped as running some 25 kilometres (15.5 miles) along the area that connects the area from Arquata del Tronto to Castelluccio di Norcia, crossing the Apennine mountain range close to the 2,500 metre (8,200 foot) Mount Vettore.
Geologist Marco Menichetti from the Urbino University said the faultline was an extensional fault which vertically thins and horizontally expands portions of the earth’s crust.
Drone footage clearly shows the fracture in the ground which has been measured at approximately 20-30 centimetres in depth.
Geologists believe it is these fractures which cause earthquakes to occur.
“It is extremely important we understand how these faultlines work because they generate earthquakes and it (the study) can give us useful information on how we can construct and how we can live alongside earthquakes which affect the Italian peninsula,” Menichetti said.
Most of the deaths in last week’s earthquake were caused by falling buildings and debris and clearly much work still needs to be done in order to create a seismically safe building for the area.