50,000 Dollars In US Aid For Quake Hit Italy

No, that’s not a misprint. $50,000 dollars. We have to wonder at the amount of aid that might have been given had it been a Muslim country (Here) or even the State of Israel struck by a 6.4 magnitude earthquake. — Ed.

The United States said Monday it would donate 50,000 dollars in emergency aid to Italy after a powerful earthquake killed at least 100 people.

“We send our heartfelt condolences to the families of those killed in the earthquake. Our embassy in Rome will provide 50,000 (dollars) in emergency relief funding,” State Department spokesman Robert Wood told reporters.

Italian authorities told the United States they did not need rescue teams, Wood said.

President Barack Obama earlier offered his condolences on a visit to Turkey and voiced hope that the United States could send rescuers.

The earthquake killed at least 100 people and injured 1,500 more as itreduced medieval buildings to rubble in the central town of L’Aquila.

Wood said there were no reports of US citizens among the dead orinjured but that the US embassy in Rome was reaching out to Americansliving in the region.

Source

2009-04-06