The 6.2 magnitude quake that hit Italy Wednesday morning has resulted in at least 250 deaths.
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At least 30 people were reported dead with the toll expected to rise as crews search homes in remote areas.
“We had one of the most handsome places in Italy and now we have nothing”, said Amatrice Mayor Sergio Pirozzi, in an interview.
Emergency services staff and volunteers were determined to pull out more survivors from the ruins, but this has proved difficult as several settlements are hard to reach.
Italy’s civil protection agency said the first estimate for damage is about $11 billion.
It took 17 hours and several firefighters to rescue her, but 10-year-old Giulia was pulled from the rubble alive today after an natural disaster struck central Italy Wednesday.
Hundreds of people spent Wednesday night sleeping in their cars or in hastily-assembled tents, the aftershocks adding to their discomfort.
The authorities were called to find shelter for some 2,000 people.
The centuries-old town of Amatrice, which was preparing to celebrate a food festival this coming weekend, was essentially reduced to rubble in the quake. It was powerful enough to be felt in Bologna to the north and Naples to the south, both more than 220 km (135 miles) from the epicenter.
The mayor said the bodies of 15-20 tourists were believed to be under the rubble of the town’s Hotel Roma, which he said had about 32 guests when it collapsed on Wednesday morning.
“Half the village has disappeared”, Pirozzi said.
The death toll from the quake that devastated Italy on August 24 has risen to more than 160 with hundreds more reportedly missing.
There have been few glimmers of hope since an quake struck central Italy on Wednesday, bringing down entire villages.
“I’m afraid the number of victims will climb today, and not by a little”, said Nicola Zingaretti, the president of the Lazio region, which took the brunt of the damage.
The Italian Red Cross published an unusual announcement today, calling on residents of the mountainous region that was severely damaged by the quake to disable their Wi-Fi passwords in order to assist the communication of rescue forces.
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Global Affairs Canada said 72 Canadians were registered as being in the affected area when the quake struck.
