---

Printer Friendly Email a Friend

Earthquake relief

Fri, 13 May 2011

Spain mourns, pledges reconstruction after quakes

By JORGE SAINZ, Associated Press Jorge Sainz, Associated Press– Fri May 13, 7:31 am ET

LORCA, Spain – Spain's crown prince and princess sought Friday to comfort relatives of nine people killed in Spain's deadliest earthquakes in more than 50 years, hugging them and shaking their hands as they slowly made their way along a long row of mourners.

Prince Felipe and Princess Letizia bent down to chat with the mourners at a crowded funeral Mass celebrated in a trade center, part of which has been turned into a makeshift refugee camp after two quakes Wednesday left many homeless in this southeastern city. Many of those in the front row at the Mass wore dark glasses.

At one point the prince stooped down to speak to a boy and affectionately ruffled the child's dark hair.

Another of those at the Mass was Teresa Corbalan, 65, who lost a cousin in the second of the two tremors. Pedro Jose Rubio Corbalan, 73, was in a bar playing dominoes when the second, larger quake hit. He was struck fatally in the head by falling concrete as he tried to run outside.

"The family is destroyed," Corbalan said.

Also attending the Mass was Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, who earlier toured the ravaged city for a firsthand look at widespread damage that forced an estimated 3,000 people to spend another night sleeping in tents in makeshift camps.

Zapatero visited the area hardest hit by Wednesday's two quakes, which also injured nearly 300, and pledged the government will help the city rebuild and return to normal as soon as possible.

Zapatero watched crews tear away loose chunks of concrete from the tops of buildings and let them crash to the ground, raising clouds of dust.

"It is my conviction that we are going to meet this test," he said afterward. "The earthquake was hard and srong. But this country is stronger. Its desire for solidarity and reconstruction are stronger."

The Spanish Cabinet was to approve aid for people who lost their homes or businesses at a meeting Friday.

At the funeral Mass, there were only four coffins in part because some of the families of the deceased wanted private funerals, town hall and regional officials said.

Lorca's mayor said Thursday that of around 550 buildings inspected so far by engineers and architects, more than half are uninhabitable.

Lorca is a city of some 90,000 that lives off agriculture.

___Daniel Woolls contributed from Madrid.

Search News Archive

News & Information

AG.org News & Information

• AG Church Flourishes Where Once Rejected
  

  In 1934, Montezuma, Iowa, officials placed Assemblies of God evangelist Morris Plotts in jail for disturbing the peace with his tent revival. It would be 70 years before God would bring a Pentecostal presence back to the community — and now, He's blessing that ministry!

• Resurrection Miracle: Great Passion Play Lives Again
  

  The Great Passion Play, a 45-year tradition, is brought back to life after, coming out of foreclosure with the help of a radio network and an AG church.

• This Week in AG History -- June 17, 1939
  

  Evangelist Zelma Argue pleads with pastors to "Preach the Word" and remain true to Scripture in this historic edition of the Pentecostal Evangel. P. C. Nelson, W. E. Moody and many others also share their insights.

• Cary E. Tidwell Passes
  

  Long-time missionary and former AG World Missions administrator passed away Wednesday, June 12, 2013.

• Churches and Mature Christians Can Counter Absentee-Father Trend
  

  The hardship absentee fathers place on their children can be, in part, offset by the church and Christian families who look out for "fatherless" children. However, absentee fathers — and fathers in general — are encouraged to invest in their children, to do their best to mend broken relationships, as most children are eager to get to know their fathers.