Onna, the village erased by earthquake. Italy

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The small village of Onna was almost completely erased by the earthquake that struck the Abruzzo region in Italy on April 6, 2009. 85% of its old buildings collapsed, killing 40. In 1944 Onna already suffered from its tragedy when a German Nazi massacre occurred, in which 16 persons were killed.

Thanks to the initiative “Come era bella Onna” (“How beautiful Onna was”) a path has been setup. It makes possible to walk through the rubble of the houses that collapsed. On the occasion of the commemoration of the 6th anniversary of the earthquake, relatives of the victims hanged portraits in front of what remains of their respective houses.

On April 6 2009 a devastating earthquake shook the region of Abruzzo, Italy. The main shock, occurred at 3.32 am causing 297 casualties -20 of them were children- and around 1500 injured under the rubble of the collapsed buildings in the area of the epicentre (near the city of L’Aquila).

More on 2009’s Abruzzo earthquake: L’Aquila, ghost city for six years and on

Onna, Italy. Apr. 10, 2015

Mandatory credit: Riccardo Budini / UnFrame

L’Aquila earthquake on Scientific American