Strong earthquakes struck central Italy early Wednesday, causing substantial damage and tremors that awakened sleeping residents in Rome nearly 100 miles away.
The first, 6.2-magnitude earthquake struck at 3:36 a.m. near the town of Accumuli, in the province of Rieti.
Severe damage was reported in the town of Amatrice, where Mayor Sergio Pirozzi said: “half the town no longer exists.” Amatrice, he added, had been cut off because of damage to roads and to a bridge, and appealed during a live television broadcast for assistance.
“There are people stuck in the rubble,” he said, calling on the emergency services to help clear roads. “Houses are no longer there,” he added, suggesting that victims had been buried in the rubble.
The quake’s paths of destruction led to other places, including the Tyrennian coast. A witness in Sperlonga, a popular seaside town in Lazio, said that historic buildings in the historic city centre have been seriously damaged, and news channels showed photos of crumbled buildings and rubble-covered cars.
Fabrizio Curcio the director of Italy’s Civil Protection Department said that the earthquake had been “severe” and that the national emergency procedures had been activated. “Verifications are necessary to optimise assistance,” he said on RaiNews24.
The Italian geological institute reported that
Katherine Selby, who is from Nottingham, England, was vacationing with her family in Campagnano di Roma, just outside of Rome, when the wardrobe doors began “shaking like crazy,” she said on Twitter.
It was frightening because it was unclear what was going on, she said, adding that she was anxiously waiting for the next aftershock. She said there was no damage.
The geological survey said the population in the region lived in structures that were a “mix of vulnerable and earthquake-resistant construction.”
On Twitter, someone in La Marche reported that electricity had been knocked out.
The first, 6.2-magnitude earthquake struck at 3:36 a.m. near the town of Accumuli, in the province of Rieti.
Severe damage was reported in the town of Amatrice, where Mayor Sergio Pirozzi said: “half the town no longer exists.” Amatrice, he added, had been cut off because of damage to roads and to a bridge, and appealed during a live television broadcast for assistance.
“There are people stuck in the rubble,” he said, calling on the emergency services to help clear roads. “Houses are no longer there,” he added, suggesting that victims had been buried in the rubble.
The quake’s paths of destruction led to other places, including the Tyrennian coast. A witness in Sperlonga, a popular seaside town in Lazio, said that historic buildings in the historic city centre have been seriously damaged, and news channels showed photos of crumbled buildings and rubble-covered cars.
Fabrizio Curcio the director of Italy’s Civil Protection Department said that the earthquake had been “severe” and that the national emergency procedures had been activated. “Verifications are necessary to optimise assistance,” he said on RaiNews24.
The Italian geological institute reported that
Katherine Selby, who is from Nottingham, England, was vacationing with her family in Campagnano di Roma, just outside of Rome, when the wardrobe doors began “shaking like crazy,” she said on Twitter.
It was frightening because it was unclear what was going on, she said, adding that she was anxiously waiting for the next aftershock. She said there was no damage.
The geological survey said the population in the region lived in structures that were a “mix of vulnerable and earthquake-resistant construction.”
On Twitter, someone in La Marche reported that electricity had been knocked out.