Abruzzo Earthquake from Afar and Within

Worrying Times
Being so far away from the tragic events of Monday morning in Aquila has made me feel very worried about more tremors in the Abruzzo region. Here is an interactive map of the Abruzzo region from the Guardian as highlighted by Larry Ferlazzo on his blog today. My home lies very close to Chieti.

Moral Support
I am due to fly back to Pescara on Friday April 17th and I somehow wish it could be sooner but I need to be here for my family for various reasons and therefore I have 10 days to go before I can be near Karl and give him some moral support. We are indeed lucky that our home is still standing despite further tremors last night as mentioned by karl on his blog.

A Strange Coincidence
It is so unbelievably strange for me to be reading of the events as they unfold from our home in Italy written first hand by Karl and also to read the many reports of the situation from my very own blog sidebar. Free Technology for Teachers Blog has very useful resources regarding earthquakes. I have suddenly become very interested in reading more about this natural phenomenum and its consequences.

Sleepless in Civitaquana
I have just spoken to Karl on the phone just as he was experiencing a severe tremor in the background. It was a truly horrible moment as I wasn't there to support him during the experience, which was quite frightening. There have been more than 30 aftershocks in the past few hours since the "biggie" and nobody knows if another one of the same magnitude is around the corner.
What people are doing at the moment is sleeping in their cars as this is a way of keeping out of danger. I suggested to Karl that he should perhaps spend the night in our Landie and place it right in the middle of our field which is "far from the madding crowd".

Sleepless in Oxford
I was unable to sleep last night after viewing all the images on television showing the scenes of devastation and listening to people describing their terror and anguish at the loss of loved ones. I still can't comprehend the enormity of the situation which is on our doorstep and I really want to be able to help in any way possible when I return to Abruzzo next week.