Earthquake Strikes Central Italy, USGS Issues Red Alert
A magnitude 6.2 earthquake has struck central Italy, south of the city of Perugia, leaving at least 250 people dead and others trapped under rubble, Italian officials said. The US Geological Survey says the shock was also felt in Rome.
The quake hit at 03:36 a.m. (01:36 GMT), 76 km (47 miles) southeast of the city, at the very shallow depth of 10km (six miles), the USGS said.
The mayor of one town told Italian radio that “half the town is gone”.
In Rome, some buildings shook for 20 seconds, according to La Repubblica newspaper.
A family of four had been found under rubble in the town of Accumoli, the town’s mayor Stefano Petrucci told RAI TV.
Meanwhile police said two people had died in the nearby village of Pescara del Tronto, RAI reported.
There were also reports of serious damage in the town of Amatrice.
“The roads in and out of town are cut off. Half the town is gone. There are people under the rubble… There’s been a landslide and a bridge might collapse,” mayor Sergio Perozzi told RAI radio.
Italy’s Civil Protection agency described the earthquake as “severe”.
“It was so strong. It seemed the bed was walking across the room by itself with us on it,” Lina Mercantini of Ceselli in Umbria, told Reuters news agency.
There are reports of damaged buildings and blackouts near the epicentre Rieti and residents fleeing their homes and running into the streets.
The mayor of Amatrice near Rieti, Sergio Perozzi, told state-run RAI radio that there were downed buildings in the city centre and that the lights had gone out. He said he was unable to get in touch with emergency responders or reach the hospital.
“What can I tell you? It’s a drama,” he said.
In 2009, a 6.3-magnitude earthquake struck in the same region and killed more than 300 people. The earlier earthquake struck L’Aquila in central Italy, about 90 kilometres south of the latest quake.
BBC, ctvnews
