Seven scientists who are part of the National Great Risks Commission were convicted of manslaughter on Monday October 22nd for failure to sufficiently warn residents before an earthquake struck in Italy in 2009 killing more than 300 lives. The scientists defended in the case that there is no reliable way to predict earthquakes and warn people. Seismologists in the US are in disbelief at the convictions stating that it is a sad day for science. These Italian experts who were convicted of this crime are some of the most internationally respected seismologists and well-known throughout the world. A 6.3 magnitude earthquake struck the historic town of L'aquila in 2009 and killed 308 people. They were accused of giving incomplete, inexact, and contradictory information for explaining the tremors that occurred months before the quake had hit. Prosecutors in Italy are comparing this disaster to the magnitude that Hurricane Katrina had on the US in 2005 even though that was a different disaster in itself. One American geologist Brooks Hanson of the American Association for the Advancement of Science states that "with earthquakes we just don't know how a swarm will proceed." It is a well-known fact that this natural disaster is hard to detect and warn residents before striking. It is a shame that people who are passionate about this science have to pay for not being able to warn residents in time of the disaster and shows how different the reaction of this disaster has on another country. Some areas of Italy are prone to earthquakes and have historic buildings that are in bad shape to withstand them.
http://www.weather.com/news/italy-earthquake-trial-20121021
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