San Diego has a strong Italian community, and when tragedy strikes, it mobilizes quickly.
In the wake of the deadly earthquake near Rome, local Italian organizations are finding ways to help. Roberto Ruocco, the San Diego vice-consul of Italy, has already sent a message to the 45 Italian organizations in town to begin collecting money for those affected by the quake in L'Aquila. Local residents can contact Ruocco if they have family in the area and can't get in touch.
Many families in San Diego have roots in that area, and several of them have yet to make contact with friends and relatives there.
Local residents can contact the Italian consulate in Los Angles to find out how they can help or go to https://www.niaf.org/relief/Relief_info.asp.
Rescue workers using their bare hands and buckets searched frantically for students believed buried in a wrecked dormitory after Italy's deadliest quake in nearly three decades buckled both ancient and modern buildings in and around L'Aquila, which is snuggled in a valley surrounded by the snowcapped Apennines' tallest peaks.
It also took a severe toll on the centuries-old castles and churches in the mountain stronghold dating from the Middle Ages, and the Culture Ministry drew up a list of landmarks that were damaged, including collapsed bell towers and cupolas.
The quake, centered near L'Aquila about 70 miles northeast of Rome, struck at 3:22 a.m., followed by more than a dozen aftershocks.
Firefighters with dogs and a crane worked feverishly to reach people trapped in fallen buildings, including a dormitory of the University of L'Aquila where a half- dozen students were believed trapped inside.
After nightfall Monday, rescuers found a scared-looking dog with a bleeding paw in the half-collapsed dorm. Relatives and friends of the missing stood wrapped in blankets or huddled under umbrellas in the rain as rescuers found pieces of furniture, photographs, wallets and diaries, but none of the missing.
The body of a male student was found during the daylight hours.
"We managed to come down with other students but we had to sneak through a hole in the stairs as the whole floor came down," said Luigi Alfonsi, 22, his eyes filling with tears and his hands trembling. "I was in bed -- it was like it would never end as I heard pieces of the building collapse around me."
Elsewhere in town, firefighters reported pulling a 21-year-old woman and a 22-year-man from a pancaked five-story apartment building where many students had rented flats.
Amid aftershocks, survivors hugged one another, prayed quietly or tried to call relatives. Residents covered in dust pushed carts of clothes and blankets that they had thrown together before fleeing their homes.
