A Rescue workers scrambled to reach survivors buried under rubble in isolated towns and villages across central Italy on Wednesday after a 6.2-magnitude quake and a series of strong aftershocks struck the region overnight, collapsing homes, rattling buildings as far away as Rome and Venice and leaving an escalating toll of dead and injured.
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A 6.2-magnitude natural disaster hit southeast of Norcia, Italy, according to the United States Geological Survey.
The magnitude 6 quake struck at 3:36 a.m. (0136 GMT) and was felt across a broad swath of central Italy, including Rome, where residents felt a long swaying followed by aftershocks.
“Half the town is gone”, said the mayor of Amatrice, one of the worst areas affected.
A 2009, 6.3-magnitude quake in the Aquila region, which was also felt in the Italian capital, left more than 300 dead.
Now search and rescue missions are underway as crews work through collapsed buildings and rubble in several small mountain towns across central Italy.
The quake caused damage in three regions – Umbria, Lazio and Marche – and was felt as far away as the southern Italian port city of Naples. Two people were killed in Pescara del Tronto, a small town in the Ascoli Piceno province, and a family of four was killed in Accumoli La Repubblica reported. “They are telling us to stay indoors for now”.
The national Civil Protection Department said some survivors would be put up elsewhere in central Italy, while others would be housed in tents that were being dispatched to the area. “At that point, we knew we had to get out of the building as fast as we can”. Rocks and metal tumbled onto the streets and dazed residents huddled in piazzas as aftershocks continued into the early morning hours. “We are living this enormous tragedy”, said the Rev. Savino D’Amelio, a parish priest in Amatrice.
The Italian Voluntary Blood Association made an appeal for people to donate blood to help treat those affected.
The main road into and out of the town was covered in debris, making rescue hard; residents were digging their neighbors out by hand. Another quake hit the northern Emilia Romagna region in May 2012, when two violent shocks 10 days apart left 23 people dead and 14,000 others homeless. He wept as he noted that the tiny hamlet of 700 swells to 2,000 in the summer months, and that he feared for the future of the town.
“I hope they don’t forget us”, he told Sky TG24.
“You’ve got people out on the streets, crying, holding onto one another, holding their children and possessions – still in their pajamas”, Nadeau said. It became clear for some officials that the extent of the damage was worse than they initially thought.
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Pope Francis has skipped his catechism lesson during his Wednesday general audience and instead led pilgrims in praying the rosary for the victims of Italy’s natural disaster.
