IASPEI PRESS RELEASE ON THE L’AQUILA SENTENCE

Abstract

The Mw 6.3 earthquake, that occurred in L'Aquila, Central Italy on April 6, 2009, killed 309 people, 1500 citizens were injured, and 30000 people lost their homes. On October 22, 2012, an Italian court in L'Aquila convicted seven scientists for failing to adequately warn residents before the earthquake struck Central Italy. All are members of the National Great Risks Commission, and several are prominent Italian seismologists and disaster experts. They were accused of involuntary manslaughter, negligence and errors in the assessment of the earthquake precursors and sentenced to six years in prison and payment of monetary compensations to relatives of those killed and injured.