(photo from Independent)

At least 290 people were killed in the earthquake that hit Italy on August 24.

This earthquake had a magnitude of 6.2. To put how strong this earthquake was in perspective, the strongest earthquake was in southern Chile in 1960 with a magnitude of 9.5.

Italy is no stranger to earthquakes.  Since 2000, more than 100 earthquakes of magnitude 4 or higher have occurred in Italy. In the last 100 years 160,000 Italians have lost their lives due to these natural disasters.

An earthquake at the magnitude that Italy experienced should cause a lot of damage; however the death toll and damage could have been a lot less.

It’s the buildings that are killing people, not the earthquake.

While disaster relief groups were cleaning up the rubble, they noticed that the buildings were not sturdy and built cheaply. They saw that most house foundations were built more with sand than concrete.  

After the 2009 earthquake, contractors were told they have to build sturdier houses, but they didn’t. They could be facing charges for the deaths they caused.

People worldwide are coming together to rebuild Italy’s communities.