The impact of the 6th April 2009 L’Aquila earthquake (Italy) on the industrial facilities and life lines. Considerations in terms of NaTech risk

The impact of earthquakes on industrial facilities and life-lines may trigger events that could produce relevant hazardous scenarios or critical inoperability of safety facilities. Further side-effects of the seismic event, such as the disruption of communication lines, may cause important delays in the emergency response. This work presents an overview of the impacts that the recent earthquake of L'Aquila made on the industrial facilities and life-lines as they appeared to the rescue services immediately after the event. In particular the authors comment on these impacts through a list of considerations in terms of lessons learned useful for the purposes of NaTech risk assessment and preventative mitigation. Copyright © 2010, AIDIC