A lecturer who recently returned from a study trip to
the earthquake-hit area of Italy shared his 
experiences and expertise on ITV’s This Morning
programme.
Applied Geologist Dr Clive Roberts took six Environmental
Management and Geography students to L’Aquila in Italy in early
March as part of the EU-wide NEPTUNE programme of research.
Alongside students from Finland, the Netherlands, France and
L’Aquila itself, the School of Applied Sciences students undertook
a project titled project “Evaluation, mitigation and risk
management along Aterno River corridor, L’Aquila”.
During the visit, the group experienced a number of minor
earthquakes, and Dr Roberts was able to draw on this during his
television interview with Philip Schofield about the earthquake
that hit the region on April 6 2009. He also spoke about why
earthquakes happen in Italy, why this one was so devastating and
why prediction is so difficult.
Dr Roberts said: “During our stay in the city we experienced
several very minor earthquakes, about the same intensity as the
2002 Dudley earthquake. We learnt at first hand about people’s
concerns that a larger event was possible.”
The students who visited L’Aquila worked in multi-international
groups and were asked to develop strategies to reduce the risk of
flooding as well as schemes to increase local prosperity and
employment opportunities. The winning group included Michael
Taguma, a Level 2 environmental management student, who designed an
artificial lake in the flood plain of the river along with a new
hotel and improved leisure facilities.
For more information on NEPTUNE, visit http://www.neptunenet.nl/about/index.html
