Italian Red Cross aids quake victims

After a series of earthquakes rocked central Italy between August and November, Italian Red Cross volunteers worked tirelessly to rescue people from the rubble, provide meals and offer psychological support to those who lost everything in the quake — including their own family members. The Red Cross’s mobile kitchen in the village of Amatrice, hit by a deadly quake in August, provided 800 meals a day to both survivors and emergency services personnel. Meanwhile, Italian Red Cross search-and-rescue teams worked around the clock to recover the victims trapped in the debris. “When we arrived in Amatrice, almost the entire town was destroyed, but we managed to rescue 20 people from the rubble,” said Piero Altissimi, a member of the Red Cross rescue team. Many migrants also joined the search-and-rescue efforts or raised money to help quake victims despite their limited means, according to news reports.

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