Rescue crews raced against time Thursday looking for survivors from the quake that leveled three towns in central Italy, but the death toll rose to 247 and Italy once again anguished over trying to secure its medieval communities built on seismic lands.
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Home rental website AirBnB has offered a free service for those affected, displaying two options: “I need a place to stay” or “I can offer my place for free”.
The authorities were called to find shelter for some 2,000 people.
As per the BBC, the death toll for the disaster sits at 247 and it is sadly expected to rise as rescue attempts continue in the affected areas. “They have given us a handsome example, because their pain did not take away their dignity”.
The picturesque medieval town of about 3,000 residents – best known as the home of “pasta all’amatriciana” – is remote and was cut off after a bridge connecting the town and the rest of the region was damaged in the quake.
Rescuers had to persuade her to urinate where she was rather than wait until she got home as they were not in a position to get her out quickly enough. Among them was Matteo Spuri, 19, who normally lives in Rome but was visiting with friends for a summer holiday.
Ms Turco is now being treated in hospital after being pulled from the rubble in the village of Arquata del Tronto, Ansa said.
“We didn’t know how long it was until … we suddenly realized it was 7am”.
“Tonight will be our first nightmare night”, said Alessandro Gabrielli in the town of Amatrice. Her 47-year-old daughter, who lived with her, was killed, the agency reported. “To have [it] recognized 100% so that people can begin to rebuild”.
Major quakes in Italy are often followed by criminal charges being filed against architects, builders and officials responsible for public works if the buildings crumble.
“So in the next few hours, the most important and urgent thing is to free the survivors”, the head of the worldwide relations Unit of Italy’s civil protection department said.
A 6.2 magnitude quake shook Norcia in Italy on Wednesday, affecting the towns of Amatrice, Pescara del Tronto and Accumoli, near the epicenter.
While hopes of finding more people alive diminished by the hour, firefighters’ spokesman Luca Cari recalled that survivors were found in L’Aquila up to 72 hours after that quake.
In September 1997, a 6.0-magnitude natural disaster in the area killed 11 and injured over 100, destroying approximately 80,000 homes in the Marche and Umbria regions.
The number of victims might in fact exceed 200 in the town of Amatrice alone, mayor Sergio Pirozzi told local media on Thursday morning.
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Some of the worst damage was in Pescara del Tronto, a hamlet near Arquata in the Marche region where the bodies of the dead were laid out in a children’s park.
