Aftershocks in central Italy rattled.
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Prime Minister Matteo Renzi has promised to rebuild shattered homes and declared a state of emergency in the region allowing the government to release 50 million euros ($56 million) for the relief work.
The twins have named the dish Amatrice, after one of the worst hit towns within the province of the Rieti when the quake took place on Wednesday morning.
Aftershocks sent rescuers and journalists running from buildings Thursday as the ground shook again in the hard-hit town of Amatrice.
“We hope to God it works because otherwise with the damaged stretch of road, we are without any connection” to the main roads. “So many people were screaming out from the buildings, ‘Help us, help us.’ It will be very hard to get this town going again”.
A state of emergency: Italy’s Council of Ministers has approved a state of emergency, according to CNN, putting 50 million euros toward emergency funding.
First victims of the quake were buried on Friday, and Italy plans to hold a state funeral for some 49 victims in the nearby city of Ascoli Piceno.
Italian news reports said the first funerals were to be held Friday for some of the victims: in Rome, for the son of a local police chief who was in Amatrice with friends; in Pomezia Terme for two grandmothers and their two grandchildren.
Teams continued to search the rubble of toppled buildings for a second night, as hundreds of aftershocks have continued to hamper the efforts of the 5,000 rescuers.
AMATRICE, Italy-The death toll from a devastating quake in central Italy climbed to at least 250 on Thursday and could rise further with rescue teams working for a second day to try to find survivors under the rubble of flattened towns.
In the wake of the Italian quake which has claimed the lives of several hundred people, local residents of stricken areas are being asked to remove the password protection on their Wi-Fi networks, as mobile networks continue to remain down.
Nobody has been pulled alive from the rubble since Wednesday. Italy’s Civil Protection agency said they had to move the residents out of the devastated town for the fear of toppling buildings and violent aftershocks. But he conceded: “Certainly, it will be very unlikely”. Some were in Amatrice for a festival to celebrate a famous local speciality – amatriciana bacon and tomato sauce.
“It’s well off the tourism track and I’d be very surprised to learn there were any people from Ireland living in the area”, he told the Irish Independent.
Across the area, thousands were forced to abandon their homes, either because they were destroyed or were determined to be too unsafe.
AMATRICE, Italy (CNN) – A firefighter who said he pulled a young girl from the rubble in central Italy after this week’s quake devastated the region said rescuers “exploded with joy” after finding her alive.
He said: “I know they are of Italian origin and that they bought the house about four years ago and did it up”.
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“Rescuers are very much aware they’re in a race against time”, said CNN correspondent Frederik Pleitgen, describing the disaster response as swift and well-organized.
