At least 159 dead after strong earthquake rocks central Italy, destroys entire town

At least 159 people were killed early Wednesday when a 6.2-magnitude earthquake rippled through central Italy, waking residents as it rumbled to Rome.
Entire blocks of Amatrice — a town near the earthquake's epicenter famous for being the birthplace of spaghetti all'amatriciana — were destroyed after the first earthquake struck around 3:30 a.m. local time in the mountainous provinces of Umbria and Perugia. Powerful aftershocks followed.
“The town isn’t here anymore,” Amatrice Mayor Sergio Pirozzi told state-run RAI radio.

Amatrice was set to host its annual festival for its namesake pasta this weekend. The city center where the festivities honoring the dish — made bacon-like bits of cured pork jowl, pecorino cheese and tomato — is now reduced to rubble.
At least 120 bodies have been found in the debris, officials said.

The death toll rose at daybreak when emergency crews rushed to find survivors in the hard-hit towns of Amatrice, Pescara del Tronto and Accumoli, digging into leveled buildings with shovels, bulldozers and their bare hands.
Landslides tore through Pescara del Tronto and Arquata del Tronto, quiet villages separated by only two miles built into the lush hillsides of Marche.
At least five people — including a family of four — died when a building in the small town of Accumoli collapsed.

"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," Accumoli Mayor Stefano Petrucci told Reuters.

The initial tremor was followed by at least seven major aftershocks focused around Norcia, a town 70 miles northeast of Rome, where startled residents in the Italian capital reported swaying homes.
"It felt like the bed was on rollers," said American tourist Michael Gilroy, telling CNN he witnessed the chaos from his hotel in Montepulciano.
"It was initially very confusing,” he said. “I'm from California and had a sense of what it may be. And we ran out to the main area and the chandelier was swaying back and forth.”

Gilroy and his girlfriend were among several guests who fled their three-story hotel 70 miles west of the earthquake’s epicenter in Norcia.

The European Mediterranean Seismological Center recorded the first earthquake at 6.1-magnitude while the United States Geological Service recorded 6.2-magnitude.
Search and rescue crews navigated through debris-clogged roads to reach razed buildings in Amatrice, where Pirozzi said he could hear “voices under the rubble.”
The earthquake knocked down power for more than 2,700 residents in the town and brought stone buildings tumbling to the ground near the city’s center.

A woman wrapped herself in a blanket and sat outside the remains of her home.
"It was one of the most beautiful towns of Italy and now there's nothing left," she said, too distraught to give her name. "I don't know what we'll do."
A pair of Afghan refugees were reported missing and a woman and a dog were pulled out of the debris alive amid rows of demolished buildings.
“What can I tell you? It’s a drama,” Pirozzi added.
As news of the devastation reached the Vatican, Pope Francis skipped a catechism lesson and led pilgrims at St. Peter’s Square in prayer for victims.


While the earthquake and aftershocks pierced through several centuries-old communities, Franciscan friars at the Basilica of St. Francis in Assisi reported no immediate damage following the tremors.
The USGS measured the first aftershock as a 4.6-magnitude near Amatrice and at least four more were recorded near Maltignano and Norcia ranging from 4.0 to 5.5.
The Italian earthquake institute documented at least 60 aftershocks in the four hours following the initial quake.
Frightened people ran into the streets in central Umbria and Le Marche regions shortly after the quake erupted.