Late Sunday evening Calgarian Ennio Ricci had already heard the initial media reports of the earthquake that struck the heart of L’Aquila, Italy.
“But this (Monday) morning, my daughter told me to read the latest news reports. This was a shock for us after what we had heard last night,” said Ricci, a member of the board of directors for the Calgary Italian Club.
“It was certainly worse than what the media was first putting out.”
Ricci and others in the Calgary’s large Italian community are just trying to make contact with loved ones in the L’Aquila area; Ricci’s wife’s family and his cousins, uncles and nephews are in the region.
“We tried this morning — and we were out of luck,” he said.
Finally Ricci was able to contact a cousin, who had been evicted from his home because cracks make it unsafe with looming aftershocks.
“As it is right now, my cousin says there are more than 100 dead,” Ricci said.
“God knows how many are buried underneath.”
The Calgary Italian Club board was slated to meet last night to plan how the group could assist in aid efforts.
“We’ll definitely be doing something to help,” Ricci said.
