PLANS FOR EMERGENCY

Taranaki Daily News, 26 February 1931, Page 10

PLANS FOR EMERGENCY

EARTHQUAKES IN ITALY. SPEEDY RESTORATION WORK. The danger of earthquakes occurring in Italy has been recognised by the Government, and an organisation has been, created to deal with such an emergency promptly and efficiently. It was described in L’lllustration, a Paris weekly journal, of August 2 last, the following .translation of the article having been furnished to the New Zealand Herald by a correspondent: — In Italy, as in all other places, .the fire brigades and the nearest garrison troops are the first to render, aid in the case of disaster. However, it is interesting to liote that in Italy the pro-. vision of hel p in a devastated area is now regulated aocofdiug.-to the terms ot a Royal decree, dated December .9, 1926, which lays down in advance the organisation of help in the event of a. public calamity. Before the advent of Fascism, no one had thought of taking such measures. The new regime has taken all steps necessary to place the relief work under a single directing head, so that the. coordination. of the different, departments, Governmental and local, may give the quickest results. . . The Minister of Public Works is. m charge of all operations, with the assist--1 ance of his Under-Secretary of State and of the Director-General of Special Services. In the event of a disaster, the Minister establishes his headquarters in the place which offers the greatest facilities as regards communications and he there confers with the local officers in charge of the affected district upon the tasks requiring most urgent, attention, such as the rescue of the inhabitants, food supplies, sanitation, etc. The local commandants, who are also responsible for public order, attend to communications and transport. The other collaborators of the Minister are the heads of the various departments whose aid may be required. All this personnel, designed in advance, forms ar. organised corps, which can be assembled. at any moment at the seat of the disaster. <

Thanks to this unique organisation the relief work (i-e., in connection with the Italian earthquake of July, .1930) proceeded with as much efficiency as devotion. - . •

The earthquake occurred oh July 2223. In its issue.of August 9, L’lllustration published the following report from its correspondent: A fortnight lias passed; help has conic; the orphans have been gathered together, the injured cared for, the dead buried. At Melfi I have seen, builders putting, the roofs on houses which seem to have sprung out of the earth by a miracle; I have walked through the straight, clean 'streets of a new quarter. In a fortnight a new province has arisen. A week after the earthquake an exaet tally of the losses was drawn up. It was known that there were 161 villages to be re-built in their entirety; 13,000 houses to be reconstructed in a few weeks. The work was started ~at once. Hundreds of workmen were mobilised and sent into the devastated area. A few days, later it was decided to rebuild Oquilonia, a kilometre lower down than tile -Id village, to demolish the old quarter of Laeedonia and . to. rebuild it a little further away. The task of reconstruction, difficult but necessary, was being carried on wisely in the midst f a calm, confident and courageous people. x