MidnightWatcher – Prophecy in Motion

By Barbie Nadeau, For CNN – “Rome (CNN) — Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti is heading home early from the NATO summit in Chicago after a strong earthquake struck near Bologna overnight, his government announced Sunday.

At least seven people died, 50 were hurt and a large number displaced by the magnitude 6.0 quake that struck northern Italy early Sunday. In a statement released earlier, Monti pledged ‘All that is necessary will be done as soon as possible’ to help the survivors.

The prime minister is scheduled to leave the summit Sunday evening Chicago time and would be back in Italy on Monday, government spokesman Carmelo Dragotta said. In a statement carried by the news agency ANSA, Monti said his foreign and defense ministers would remain at the summit.

The quake struck about 4 a.m. Sunday (10 p.m. Saturday ET) and was centered about 4 kilometers (2.4 miles) outside Camposanto, northwest of Bologna, the U.S. Geological Survey reported. In addition to the deaths and injuries, a large but unknown number of people — believed to be in the thousands — have been displaced, said Elisabetta Maffani, a spokeswoman for the civil protection agency.

The fatalities included two people killed in a ceramics factory in Sant’Agostino di Ferrara, about 30 km from the epicenter, Maffani said. Another person died when a work shed collapsed in nearby Ponte Rodoni di Bondeno.” Read more.