At least 37 people have been killed and dozens are missing, according to Italy’s civil protection agency.
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The hardest-hit towns were reported as Amatrice and Accumoli near Rieti, with residents running into the streets as aftershocks continued into the early morning hours. Photo: Reuters/Remo CasilliPeople stand along a road following a quake in Amatrice. “We must get down to work.to restore hope to this area which has been so badly hit”, he said in a brief televised address. “I just managed to put a pillow on my head and I wasn’t hit luckily, just slightly injured my leg”. A statement said the decision was taken as a “sign of the pope’s concrete proximity to the people affected by the quake”.
A family of four is also reportedly trapped under rubble and feared dead.
Olga Urbani, in the nearby town of Scheggino, said: “Dear God it was very bad. Houses are no longer there”.
Police near the town of Ascoli said they could hear cries for help from under the rubble but lacked the heavy equipment to move the rocks, according the RAI radio.
Measures to strengthen older buildings across Italy and make them safer would meet fierce resistance given the huge cost of reinforcing every medieval hamlet and Renaissance palace without stripping them of their charm. However, Father Nivakoff said, “the facade seems to have detached” from the rest of the building and major repairs are likely. Ambulances then transferred patients to other towns.
The shallow quake struck 10 kilometres southeast of Norcia, a town in the province of Perugia, at around 3.30 am (0130 GMT) according to the USGS, AFP reports.
Search parties sifted through the rubble in various towns and villages as the sun rose.
“We need chain saws, shears to cut iron bars, and jacks to remove beams: everything, we need everything”, civil protection worker Andrea Gentili told The Associated Press.
Civil Protection chief Fabrizio Curcio classed the quake as “severe”.
Italy, which sits on two fault lines, is one of the most earthquake-prone countries throughout Europe.
A powerful, 6.2-magnitude natural disaster and a series of strong aftershocks struck central Italy overnight, collapsing homes near the epicenter, rattling buildings as far away as Rome and Venice and leaving Italian rescue workers desperately scrambling to aid trapped residents.
That tragedy once again revealed the fragility of Italy’s infrastructure, with both modern and ancient buildings, including churches, hospitals and a college dormitory in the area destroyed by the quake. Darkness hampered immediate damage assessments, but officials told Italy’s state broadcaster, RAI, that at least six people had died, including a family with two children in the central Italian town of Accumoli. “That is the good news”.
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Premier Matteo Renzi visited the zone Wednesday, greeted rescue teams and survivors and announced the toll stood at 120.
