'What the heck is going on here?' Regina's Italian community reacts to devastating 'quake

Some people in Regina are watching the aftermath of the earthquake in Italy with concern.

Sebastian Deiana is the president of The Italian Club in Regina. He said he saw the news of the quake while watching Italian TV on Tuesday night.

“I was watching news and all of a sudden it came up, and I said ‘holy mackerel what the heck is going on here?'”

The quake was a magnitude 6 which hit at 3:36 a.m. in central Italy. On Wednesday afternoon the death toll had risen above 150.

Photos from the towns of Amatrice and Accumoli show piles of rubble where beautiful old homes once stood, victims caught in the quake being treated, and a completely changed view from the day before.

Deiana said he knows what people go through when a disaster like this happens, and that it’s hard to watch.

He goes back to visit in Italy often, and said he’s been to the Lazio region where the quake hit.

“And now is the time to go there … that area is just like paradise, but with what happened now,” he sighed. “Some of the towns are completely destroyed.”

Deiana wanted to visit the area again just a few weeks ago when he was in Italy, but didn’t get a chance. Now he’s planning on going the next time he’s there, likely next year.

In response to the tragedy, Deiana said he’d like to have a fundraising banquet to help the victims, but still had to talk to the club’s board about it on Wednesday afternoon. Though he did say that anyone who wants to donate can do so at The Italian Club on Connaught Street.