The Italian Earthquake of November 23, 1980

The Italian Earthquake of November 23, 1980

The 1980 Irpinia earthquake took place in the Irpinia region in
southern Italy on Sunday, November 23, 1980. Measuring 6.89 on
the Richter Scale, the quake, centered on the village of Conza,
killed 2,914 people, injured more than 10,000 and left 300,000
homeless. It is known in Italy as Terremoto dell'Irpinia
(Irpininan earthquake).
The quake struck at 18:34 UTC. The first jolt was followed by
90 aftershocks. Towns in the province of Avellino were hardest
hit. In Sant'Angelo dei Lombardi, 300 died including 27 children
in an orphanage and eighty percent of that town had been
destroyed. One hundred were killed in Balvano when a medieval
church collapsed during Sunday services. The towns of Lioni,
Conza di Campania (near the epicenter), and Teora were destroyed,
and dozens of structures in Naples were levelled, including a
10-story apartment building. Damage was spread over more than
26,000 km², including Naples and Salerno.
In the Burg this event of course touched our hearts and
Earthquake Relief was organized by a coordinated effort of
local Italian American organizations with the following folks
leading the way: Frank Orsini of Roman Hall, Paul Innocenzi
of The Montelione Society, Adelia Allegretti of The Ladies
Roman Society, Joseph Russo of The Neapolitan Society, Angelo
Candelori of the Fermi Federation and Maurice Perilli of
Roma Savings Bank. The AFL-CIO asked for each of its 750,000
members to donate 2 cans of food. I remember Mrs Gianetti
my Italian Language Class Teacher in Trenton High
collecting from us to help for a prior earthquake in 1977 but
this one was far worse. In both, The Burg did its part:)