Ground motions from the earthquake in Abruzzo, more than 100 kilometres away, woke my neighbours in their beds, though I managed to snore my way through it all. I live in a flat on the top floor of a house with a new, allegedly earthquake-resistant roof, and it's possible the reason I didn't wake up has something to do with that. Though it may just be that I'm a heavy sleeper. And the tremors, by the time they reached us, weren't strong enough to do any damage. In the event of a larger earthquake closer to home, there's an emergency muster point in a car park at the bottom of the hill. It's nice to know the authorities have made contingency plans, though hard not to see this as window-dressing: most of the 295 people who died in and around l'Aquila were buried under rubble before they got as far as the bedroom door.

LRB 30 April 2009 | PDF Download