The main natural disaster, measured by the U.S. Geological Survey at 6.2 magnitude and a shallow six miles below ground, struck at 3:36 a.m. on Wednesday and was centred about 100 miles northeast of Rome.
Advertisement
At least 290 people were killed, according to the Associated Press (AP).
Firefighters and rescue crews using sniffer dogs worked in teams around the hard-hit areas, pulling chunks of cement, rock and metal from mounds of rubble where homes once stood.
Player does not autoplay and should be used within articles. The quake struck at a shallow depth of 10 km.
Geologists surveyed the damage Thursday to determine which buildings were still inhabitable, while Culture Ministry teams were fanning out to assess the damage to some of the region’s cultural treasures, especially its medieval-era churches. Portions of the city have also lost power.
In the first official death toll, Italy’s civil protection unit said there had been 38 deaths in and around the villages of Amatrice, Accumoli and Arquata del Tronto.
Numerous people killed or reported missing are believed to be visitors.
“The town isn’t here anymore”, said Sergio Pirozzi, the mayor of Amatrice.
The quake was felt across a broad section of central Italy, including the capital Rome where people in homes in the historic center felt a long swaying followed by aftershocks.
The news agency also quoted the Red Cross officials saying they received reports of three people killed – two children and one resident from two towns close to the epicentre.
One of Thursday’s aftershocks was another blow for Davide D’Angelo, a 78-year-old retired railroad worker who survived Wednesday’s quake with his wife and two visiting adult daughters.
The rescue effort has been hampered by hundreds of aftershocks, including a magnitude 4.3 strong tremor that hit this afternoon. The aftershock, which is now the strongest aftershock since the initial quake, crumbled a few buildings that were previously compromised, the AP reported.
Weather will not hamper recovery efforts in the next several days.
Aerial video taken by drones showed swathes of Amatrice, a year ago voted one of Italy’s most attractive historic towns, completely flattened.
It was packed with visitors when the quake struck at 3:36am (0136 GMT).
On Jan. 13, 1915, a magnitude 6.7-earthquake near Avezzano killed approximately 32,000 people.
Funding shortfalls and bureaucracy are obstacles to making the country’s buildings quake-resistant.
Rescuers working with emergency lighting saved a 10-year-old girl who remained in the ruins for some 17 hours in the hamlet of Pescara del Tronto.
An Irishman whose family was caught up in the devastating quake that hit Italy earlier this week has spoken of his terror.
Advertisement
Two people hug each other next to the remains of a collapsed house following an quake in Pescara Del Tronto, Italy, Wednesday, Aug. 24, 2016.
