The 6.2 magnitude earthquake struck near the city of
Rieti,central
Italy,at around 3:30am local time
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The 6.2 magnitude earthquake struck near the city of Rieti,central Italy,at around 3:30am local time
A powerful earthquake has rocked Italy overnight killing at least 10 people and burying many more as they slept.
The epicentre of the 6.2-magnitude quake was the near the city of Rieti at around 3.30am local time and was so powerful it rocked buildings in the centre of
Rome 100 miles away.
The 6.2 magnitude earthquake struck near the city of Rieti,central Italy,at around 3:30am local time
Survivors have described 'apocalyptic' scenes in towns and villages near the city of
Perugia - the capital of the tourist-packed Umbrian region, which is especially popular with
British holidaymakers.
At least 10 are feared dead in the earthquake after people were crushed by falling buildings or suffocated by the rubble. The earthquake also caused landslides.
Its epicentre was in
Norcia in Umbria, about 105 miles north east of Rome, while the hardest-hit towns were reported as
Amatrice,
Accumoli and Norcia and there are thought to be multiple fatalities.
The mayor of Amatrice,
Stefano Petrucci, said this morning: ‘My town isn’t here anymore’ as people were carried out of ruined buildings on stretchers and people desperately searched the debris for survivors or sobbed as they inspected their own ruined homes.
The first victims of the devastating quake were an elderly couple whose home collapsed in
Pescara del
Tronto, in the
Marche region, around ten miles from the epicentre.
The 6.2 magnitude earthquake struck near the city of Rieti,central Italy,at around 3:30am local time
'Four people are under the rubble, but they are not showing any
sign of life. Two parents and two children,' said the town's Mayor Stefano Petrucci.
The quake also destroyed homes and buried people under rubble in the small town of Amatrice, where many more are feared dead.
'The roads in and out of town are cut off.
Half the town is gone,' said the town's mayor
Sergio Pirozzi.
He added: 'There are people under the rubble
... There's been a landslide and a bridge might collapse.'
First images of the damage in Amatrice showed cars caked in rubble and the debris of collapsed buildings sprawled across the streets.
Mayor
Nicola Alemanno said no deaths have been reported deaths in Norcia, adding: 'The anti-seismic structures of the town have held.
'There is damage to the historic heritage and buildings, but we do not have any serious injuries.
Strong shockwaves were felt as far as the capital Rome, more than 100 miles from where the 'shallow' quake first struck at around 3.30am local time.
There have already been 'reports of victims in the quake zone', according to
Italian Fire Department spokesman Luca
Cari.
It was so strong... It seemed the bed was walking across the room by itself with us on it
Lina Mercantini of Umbria, central Italy
The 6.2 magnitude earthquake struck near the city of Rieti,central Italy,at around 3:30am local time
The worst hit towns were believed to be Accumoli, Amatrice,
Posta and
Arquata del Tronto.
Prime Minister Matteo Renzi's office said rescue teams were being sent to the worst-hit areas.
'It was so strong... It seemed the bed was walking across the room by itself with us on it,' said Lina Mercantini of Umbria, central Italy.
Olga Urbani, in the nearby town of
Scheggino, said: '
Dear God, it was awful. The walls creaked and all the books fell off the shelves.'
The quake is believed to have damaged buildings across the central region while residents in Rome reported their houses 'swaying'. Prime Minister Matteo Renzi's spokesman said on Twitter that the government was in touch with the country's civil protection agency.
The
USGS initially reported the magnitude of the quake at
6.4, saying it was very shallow - only 6.2 miles (10 km) deep.
The last major earthquake to hit Italy struck the central city of
L'Aquila in 2009, killing more than
300 people.
The 6.2 magnitude earthquake struck near the city of Rieti,central Italy,at around 3:30am local time
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- published: 24 Aug 2016
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