Terremoto

This is the town of Amatrice, which was devastated at 3:30 a.m. European Central Time.  So far 124 people are known dead, and there will be more, since they are having a hard time digging through the rubble to save those that are still alive.
The earthquake hit the central mountain areas of Umbria, Lazio and Le Marche.  Dr. C. and I spent last night in a hotel at the Rome airport; the earthquake woke me up out of a sound sleep; for those of us used to this in California, it felt like a shaker that went on for about 30 seconds.  There was no damage that was reported in Rome, and we headed for Spello (central Umbria) at 11:30---there was no damage that we saw along the way, and when we got to Spello (a medieval town) there was no damage that we could find.

 Our family's wine bar is fully functioning, without any damage, and the apartment that we are staying at is just fine.  The reason is that these buildings, although medieval, have had a seismic retrofit.  We have heard from friends that there hasn't been any damage of note, in the towns around here, Assisi, Todi and Orvieto.  There will be aftershocks, and that will be devastating to the areas that have been the hardest hit.
How can you help?  I'll update this page, but right now the best bet is donating to the Red Cross.  We aren't able to donate blood since we haven't donated here before and they need the blood immediately.  This weekend was going to be the celebration of the pasta that Amatrice is famous for, pasta all'Amatriciana.  I have no idea what will happen now, but pray for the people who have been affected by this tragedy.  I'll be back with an update here and on my Facebook page.  Until then ciao and buona notte.
Update:  Go to this link for ways to donate:
 http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/how-to-help-victims-italy-earthquake_us_57bf020de4b085c1ff27f8c5?section=&