The death toll from a powerful quake in central Italy reached at least 250 on Thursday, but officials cautioned it could rise further as rescuers continued a grim search for corpses, as powerful aftershocks rocked the devastated area.
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Rescue workers and firefighters are using heavy machinery, sniffer dogs, and their bare hands to comb the wreckage for survivors.
Many of those killed or injured were holidaymakers in the four worst-hit towns – Amatrice, Pescara del Tronto, Arquata del Tronto and Accumoli – where seasonal visitors swell populations by up to tenfold the summer.
“We didn’t see any happy stories here”, she said. One of them, Monica, said a 4.5-magnitude aftershock which rattled the area just after 5.00 am (0300 GMT) had left her numb.
Premier Matteo Renzi, visiting the quake-affected zone Wednesday, promised to rebuild “and guarantee a reconstruction that will allow residents to live in these communities, to relaunch these lovely towns that have a wonderful past that will never end”.
With residents advised not to go back into their homes, temporary campsites were being set up in Amatrice and Accumoli as authorities looked to find emergency accommodation for more than 2,000 people. “People are stuck underneath the rubble”.
Fabrizio Curcio, the head of Italy’s civil protection agency, said the quake was on par with the L’Aquilla quake.
Numerous victims were children, Italy’s Health Minister said, and there were warnings the toll could rise further.
Although rescue workers were pessimistic about the chance of finding any more survivors, officials stressed that the last survivor of a 2009 in nearby L’Aquila was pulled from the rubble some 72 hours after it struck. As many as 70 tourists were staying at the hotel when the quake struck.
“We will work relentlessly until the last person is found, and make sure no one is trapped”, said Lorenzo Botti, a rescue team spokesman.
“The whole ceiling fell but did not hit me”, resident Maria Gianni told the Associated Press.
At least 365 people were injured in the initial natural disaster and the aftermath.
“It will be very important, and we will collect together all the necessary money and funds as soon as possible to rebuild, once we overcome any bureaucratic paperwork and issues”, Berlusconi said at the time.
What should US travelers do? Shaking is more intense from quakes that hit close to the surface like setting off “a bomb directly under a city”, said Susan Hough, a USGS seismologist.
Serra, who lives on the fourth floor of a Renaissance-era building in the historical center of Rome, said he felt a couple of smaller quakes afterward. No victims were reported there, but the quakes damaged buildings, according to RaiNews24.
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The U.S. Geological Survey measured the magnitude 6.2 quake in Italy and pegged the epicenter at Norcia, located roughly 105 miles northeast of Rome.
