Many feared dead after 6.2 earthquake strikes Italy

Magnitude 4.6 earthquake

11 km from Amatrice RI, Italy · 2:56 AM

 

Culled from USAtoday

At least 37 people were killed and dozens more were missing or feared dead Wednesday after a magnitude 6.2 earthquake and a series of aftershocks struck several towns in central Italy, according Italy's civil protection agency.
The death toll climbed in the morning as rescuers searched for people trapped in the rubble. The hardest-hit towns were Amatrice and Accumoli near Rieti, about 80 miles northeast of Rome.
Mayor Sergio Pirozzi, the mayor of Amatrice, tells the Associated Press that rescue teams are trying to reach all 69 hamlets around his town.
“Half of the town doesn’t exist anymore,”  Perozzi told RAI-TV. “People are stuck underneath the rubble. Houses are no longer there.”
He tells that the Associated Press that the death toll "will rise."
Police near the town of Ascoli said they could hear cries for help from under the rubble but lack the heavy equipment to move the rocks, according the RAI radio

rubble but lack the heavy equipment to move the rocks, according the RAI radio

Italy's civil protection agency says at least 37 people have died in the magnitude 6 quake that struck central Italy. Crews are looking through the rubble of collapsed buildings for survivors and victims. (Aug. 24) AP

Several buildings collapsed and lights went out after the earthquake, Perozzi said. He said he had trouble communicating with emergency responders and couldn't reach the hospital. The center of Amatrice was devastated and homes collapsed on residents as they slept.
“The whole ceiling fell but did not hit me,” resident Maria Gianni told the AP. “I just managed to put a pillow on my head and I wasn’t hit luckily, just slightly injured my leg.”
The picturesque medieval town of about 3,000 residents — best known as the home of “pasta all’amatriciana” — is remote and was cut off after a bridge connecting the town and the rest of the region was damaged in the quake.
Search parties sifted through the rubble in various towns and villages as the sun rose. It became clear for some officials that the extent of the damage was worse than they initially thought.
"Now that daylight has come, we see that the situation is even more dreadful than we feared with buildings collapsed, people trapped under the rubble and no sound of life," Stefano Pertucci, mayor of Accumoli mayor, told RAI-TV.
Fabrizio Curcio, the director of Italy’s civil protection agency, activated national emergency procedures. He said the quake was on par with one in L'Aquilla in 2009 that left more than 300 people dead.
The first earthquake struck around 3:30 a.m. local time near Norcia, a small town roughly 105 miles from Rome, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. No victims were reported there, but the quakes damaged buildings, according to RaiNews24.
“Much of our patrimony is damaged, but there are no victims,” Mayor Nicola Alemanno told RaiNews24. “That is the good news.”
Italian Premier Matteo Renzi, who is heading to the zone later Wednesday, says the immediate priority is to rescue any survivors.
In brief remarks, Renzi thanked rescue workers who dug through debris, some with their bare hands, to reach residents crushed by their homes.
Renzi says that in times of trouble, Italy shows its true face. He says: “No family, no city, no hamlet will be left alone.”