ITALIAN SEISMOLOGISTS CRIMINALLY NEGLIGENT FOR NOT PREDICTING EARTHQUAKE?

The article debates on the issue of criminal negligence facing Italian seismologists for their failure to issue a warning ahead of the L'Aquila earthquake in April 2009. It narrates the circumstances leading to the charge of gross negligent manslaughter, which drew over 5,100 scientists to sign an open letter supporting the seismologists. Seismologist Susan Hough of the U.S. Geological Survey in California stresses that science can not predict earthquakes. The L'Aquila case is said to highlight the difficulty of communicating seismic risk to the public.