Sunday morning, while dreaming of delicious pear pasta drizzled in carrot cream sauce, I abruptly woke up to the world shaking. In my top bunk bed, I felt the walls twitch and gasped as my fan swung aggressively back and forth. Dozens of car alarms were blaring, waking everyone up from a deep slumber. It was my third earthquake in four days. This one though was much larger in impact, shaking my whole bed for what felt like several minutes. Ranking a 6.6 on the Richter scale, Sunday's earthquake was Italy's largest since 1980.
Over the past three months, Italy has been plagued with multiple earthquakes, shattering towns and destroying centuries old basilicas. Hundreds of years of history destroyed in the matter of seconds by these wretched shakes.
The most recent earthquake shook me to my core. I felt the dizzying effects for several hours after including the aftershocks that ran rampant through Rome. Although the earthquake occurs many kilometers away, the effects of the can be felt throughout several regions of Italy. One basilica here in Rome even cracked slightly due to the quake.
After the earthquake, myself along with thousands of other Romans took to the streets on such a beautiful day, following a disastrous morning. It seemed as though the whole world was outside, afraid of any more damage and gearing up for a celebratory week of holidays.
Watching TVs all over the city, everyone’s hearts have been breaking because of the terrible damage that follows the quakes. Lives and buildings are in danger and no one is sure if there will be any more. But everyone is staying positive and thankful for the low death toll.
That earthquake and the solidarity of the Roman people will stay with me forever. During this frightening time, keep Italy in your prayers and hope Mother Nature doesn’t cause any more damage.
