Comment on “Communicating earthquake risk to the public: the trial of the ‘L’Aquila Seven’” by David E. Alexander

Abstract

In his paper on the so-called L’Aquila trial, David Alexander (2014) states that “much of the international reaction to the trial was misguided because it was based on incomplete, second-hand information about the proceedings.” To support this hypothesis, his reasoning process refers back to the entire National Service of Civil Protection of Italy and, in particular, to the Italian Department of Civil Protection. As civil servants of this Department who are well aware of the circumstances treated, we would like to comment some of the Alexander’s statements, which present a partial, if not totally incorrect, representation of events. This comment, however, is not aimed at providing alternative and exhaustive representations or interpretations of the events, but rather at allowing the reader to form his own opinion with a more comprehensive description of the circumstances treated by Alexander.