Gian Michele Calvi, an expert in earthquake engineering who is one of the indicted seven, says the commission recognised that L'Aquila is in a highly seismic zone, and that a powerful earthquake could therefore happen at any time.

ECONOMIST: An extraordinary manslaughter trial starts in Italy

New Zealand's Earthquake Commission (EQC) is the government agency providing natural disaster insurance for homeowners.

BBC: Christchurch businesses still hit a year after quake

At the time of the earthquake, Italy's biggest in three decades, the defendants were members of Italy's National Commission for the Forecast and Prevention of Major Risks, a unit of Italy's Civil Protection Agency.

WSJ: Court Convicts 7 for Inadequate Warning of Quake Risk

"This earthquake will hit us again, " Kent Yu, an engineer and chairman of the commission, told lawmakers.

NPR: Report Makes Chilling Forecast On Northwest Quake