In a remarkable tale of survival, a cat has been rescued from under the rubble of Italy’s earthquake zone after being trapped for 16 days.
The cat, named Pietro, is thought to have survived on drops of rainwater – the area hit by the quake last month has seen several storms in the past few days.
Firefighters were excavating the remains of a collapsed house in the hill-top town of Amatrice, one of the communities worst hit by the August 24 quake, when they heard faint mews coming from under the rubble.
They carefully lifted out the cat, which was severely dehydrated. Firefighters immediately gave it a drink of water and then dispatched the animal to a vet’s surgery in the nearby town of Rieti.
“It’s really true that cats have nine lives, look at that,” said one of the firefighters at the scene.
The cat, named Pietro, is thought to have survived on drops of rainwater – the area hit by the quake last month has seen several storms in the past few days.
Firefighters were excavating the remains of a collapsed house in the hill-top town of Amatrice, one of the communities worst hit by the August 24 quake, when they heard faint mews coming from under the rubble.
They carefully lifted out the cat, which was severely dehydrated. Firefighters immediately gave it a drink of water and then dispatched the animal to a vet’s surgery in the nearby town of Rieti.
“It’s really true that cats have nine lives, look at that,” said one of the firefighters at the scene.
Dozens of cats, dogs and other pets have been rescued in the earthquake zone, a remote area on the borders of four regions – Lazio, Umbria, Abruzzo and Marche.
A cat named Gioia – Joy in English – was rescued after spending six days trapped in the rubble of a collapsed house, but Pietro has comfortably beaten that record.
A cat named Gioia – Joy in English – was rescued after spending six days trapped in the rubble of a collapsed house, but Pietro has comfortably beaten that record.
Nearly 300 people were killed by the 6.0 magnitude quake, including three British tourists staying in a restored farmhouse – William Henniker-Gotley, 55, his wife Maria, 51, and Marcos Burnett, 14, the son of friends. They were asleep in the farmhouse in the mountain hamlet of Sommati when its roof and walls came crashing down.
Thousands of people are sleeping in tent villages set up by the emergency services, while others have been transferred to hotels in the region.
The government hopes to build temporary villages made up of pre-fabricated chalet-style buildings within the next six months, prior to the long-term rebuilding of devastated towns and villages. More than 5,000 aftershocks have shaken the region since the quake hit last month.
source
Thousands of people are sleeping in tent villages set up by the emergency services, while others have been transferred to hotels in the region.
The government hopes to build temporary villages made up of pre-fabricated chalet-style buildings within the next six months, prior to the long-term rebuilding of devastated towns and villages. More than 5,000 aftershocks have shaken the region since the quake hit last month.
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