The death toll was expected to rise.
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Sergio Pirozzi, the mayor of the town of Amatrice in the province of Lazio told RAI that residents were buried under the debris of collapsed buildings and that “the town isn’t here anymore”. Half the town is gone.
“At the moment we need to employ all our forces to save human lives, treat the injured and ensure the best conditions for the people displaced”, he said. “Houses are no longer there”.
In Accumoli, one witness told ANSA that fire and police teams looking for a young couple and two children in a pile of rubble were alternating earth-moving equipment with individuals using bare hands.
Amid the bad aftermath of Italy’s devastating natural disaster, a miracle was found in the rubble Wednesday – an 8-year-old girl pulled alive from the smoking ruins.
Several buildings collapsed in the mountain town of Amatrice, according to CNN affiliate RAI.
Search parties sifted through the rubble in various towns and villages as the sun rose.
More than 1,000 people have been displaced by the quake, and the Civil Protection agency says no residents will be allowed to sleep in the devastated town of Amatrice tonight.
The devastation harked back to the 2009 quake that killed more than 300 people in and around L’Aquila, about 55 miles south of the latest quake.
Currently, Italy sits on two fault lines, making it one of the most seismically active countries in all of Europe.
The quake struck around 3:30 a.m. local time, and was felt across central Italy – including Rome – there was no damage reported there.
People the Rieti region fled their homes and ran into the streets as the quake damaged buildings, the Associated Press reported.
“We’re digging, digging. hoping to find someone alive”, Stefano Petrucci, mayor of Accumoli, told Rai. “That is the good news”.
Map showing where Italy quake struck. Before leaving Rome he promised: “No one will be left alone, no family, no community, no neighbourhood”.
“Aftershock rate is high in #Italy following M6.2 and will likely continue in the coming days”, the center said in a tweet Wednesday.
“It felt like the bed was on rollers”, he said. “I could hear other dogs in other apartments”.
President Barack Obama, speaking by telephone to Italian President Sergio Mattarella, said the United States sent its thoughts and prayers to the quake victims and saluted the “quick action” by first responders.
USGS’s PAGER system, which predicts the impact of earthquakes, has issued a red alert – suggesting significant casualties and damage based on previous quake data.
December 26, 2004: A magnitude 9.1 quake in Indonesia triggers an Indian Ocean tsunami, killing 230,000 people in a dozen countries.
“This was an natural disaster. that is considered a very shallow quake”, said Jessica Turner of the USGS.
The rest of the small, mountainous village wasn’t so lucky.
The tremors caused extensive damage across central Italy.
Zaba told Polish PAP agency that the African Plate is moving northwards at the speed of up to 2 inches a year.
No. U.S. Geological Survey geophysicist John Bellinni said the two quakes were in two different seismic zones.
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Other historic buildings feared at risk include a museum housed in a medieval fort, and 14th-century frescoes in the church of St Augustine as well as the Roman walls, survivors of many earthquakes, which still partly encircle the town.
