Leaders' wives meet survivors of earthquake devastation

Published on Thursday 9 July 2009 22:00

SARAH Brown and Michelle Obama yesterday saw for themselves the devastation caused by the earthquake that claimed over 300 lives when it destroyed much of the city hosting the G8 summit.

The wives of the Prime Minister and the US president toured the centre of L'Aquila while their husbands focused their efforts on talks aimed at relieving global poverty and tackling climate change.

The women were moved as they chatted with survivors of the disaster which killed 308 people in April this year.

Blocks of flats were levelled, Renaissance buildings flattened and more than 50,000 residents were displaced from the mountain city as a result of the 6.8 magnitude earthquake.

The two women were in a group of about 50 people, which included Filippa Reinfeldt, the wife of the Swedish prime minister Fredrik Reinfeldt.

Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi switched the venue of this week's summit from Sardinia to L'Aquila to show solidarity with victims of the quake.

However, there have been complaints that resources have been lavished on preparing the military barracks-style venue to receive the world leaders at a time when people remain homeless nearby.

A small group of residents tried to stage a protest on the route of the spouses' tour, but heavy security kept them away.

In her blog, Mrs Brown said: "The full scale of the devastation really hits you when you see such beautiful buildings full of cracks and surrounded by crumbling stones.

"A glimpse inside a church revealed nothing but piles of rubble waiting to be sifted through during the coming months, to enable the restoration."

After being taken to the heart of the city, where the damage was most severe, Mrs Brown remarked that the "emptiness of the buildings was striking" and wondered "how everyone is coping with their displaced lives".