The U.S. Geological Survey, which measured Wednesday’s quake at 6.2 magnitude, said it struck near the Umbrian city of Norcia, while Italy’s natural disaster institute INGV registered it at 6.0 and put the epicentre further south, closer to Accumoli and Amatrice.
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An quake of almost the same magnitude struck in the same region back in 2009, leaving more than 300 people dead, the AP said.
Pirozzi, wearing a blue sweatshirt with “Amatrice” on it, said he had given rescue teams indications of which hamlets might have people still trapped under debris. “Half the village has disappeared”.
He said the town of just 700 residents swells to 2,000 in the summer months thanks to tourism, but that he feared for its future after the natural disaster.
At least 37 people have been killed and dozens are missing, according to Italy’s civil protection agency.
RAI quoted police as saying two people were known to have died in the nearby village of Pescara del Tronto.
Ten bodies had been recovered there by mid-morning and rescuers were braced for further fatalities.
Many were trapped under rubble as buildings and houses collapsed due to the tremors that were also felt in the country’s capital city of Rome, BBC reported.
Fr Savino D’Amelio, an Amatrice parish priest, described the quake as an “immense tragedy”. “There are people under the ruins, it is not a good situation”. But after the third powerful aftershock she chose to run outside to the street, alongside stunned neighbors.
According to local media, the town of Amatrice in the Lazio region has been completely flattened by the event.
Mayor Pirozzi said hard access to the village had prevented emergency services getting through. “There’s been a landslide and a bridge might collapse”, Pirozzi told RAI.
“We can hear voices under the rubble”.
Amatrice is famous in Italy as a beauty spot and is a popular holiday destination for Romans seeking cool mountain air at the height of the summer.
The European Mediterranean Seismological Center and the U.S. Geological Survey reported the main quake had a magnitude at 6.2, strong enough to wake residents in Rome some 105 miles to the south.
A red alert was issued by the USGS PAGER system, which estimated that significant casualties and property damage were likely.
Residents across a broad swath of central Italy felt the temblor, which struck at 3:36 a.m. and sent people running into the streets.
Italian authorities warned of the risks of after-shocks in the coming hours.
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Dozens of people are dead and several towns heavily damaged. This is one of the worst earthquakes that Italy has felt.
