Christmahanikwanzikah wrote:According to other tidbits in the article, the apparent basis of the trial is that these scientists didn't give warning of an impending earthquake, which would've prevented an unnecessary loss of life.
... which, if you know anything about the subject, is utter bullshit.
2.Which, if you knew anything about the L'Aquila quake, is utter bullshit.
2a.It wasn't just a single shock. Shock about magnitude 4 were going on repeatedly since at least a month before the main shock struck. People had been calling the firefighters and the Protezione civile for weeks to report cracks in their houses and in public buildings.
2b.The INGV and Protezione Civile crowd had been conducting a meeting the day before the main shock, and they decided that they weren't going to tell people to move out of their houses because they didn't want to "fuel panic".
2c.A INGV technician (more on wiki) had detected radon venting from fissures in the ground, which is often correlated to upcoming major quakes. He alerted the INGV and Protezione Civile brass that according to his own calculation, a 6+ Richter shock was to be expected within days, and he got fired and sued for that warning. That, 2 days before the major shock.
2d.The INGV and Protezione Civile top levels aren't just "scientists". They're also Public Administration executives. As part of governmental agencies, they are to be held responsible and accountable for NOT having alerted the population of a likely and present danger.