Earthquake leaves at least 10 dead in central Italy 14 minutes ago From the sectionEurope Jump media player Media player help Out of media player. Press enter to return or tab to continue. Media captionMany buildings in the town of Amatrice were reduced to rubble A magnitude 6.2 earthquake has struck central Italy, leaving at least 10 people dead and others trapped under rubble, Italian officials said. "Half the town is gone," said the mayor of Amatrice, one of the worst areas affected. A family of four were feared dead in the rubble of their house in the nearby town of Accumoli. The quake hit at 03:36 (01:36 GMT), 100km (65 miles) north-east of Rome, at a shallow depth of 10km. Some buildings in the capital shook for 20 seconds. Some of the worst damage was in the town of Amatrice, where several people died and rescue efforts were under way to find survivors. "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. The main street through the town has been devastated and emergency workers are trying to reach six people in a collapsed building. Meanwhile police said two people had died in the village of Pescara del Tronto, Image copyrightAFP Image captionItalian authorities have described the quake as severe Image copyrightREUTERS Image captionThe quake took place in the early hours of Wednesday morning Image copyrightREUTERS Image captionThe rescue effort is now in full swing Image copyrightREUTERS Image captionBuildings in the town of Amatrice have collapsed 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, Umbria, told Reuters. Rescue teams are being sent to the worst-hit areas, the prime minister's office said. The quake was initially reported as being magnitude 6.4. It was followed by several powerful aftershocks, La Repubblica newspaper reported. The deputy editor of the British newspaper, The Times, told the BBC that the quake lasted about 20 seconds followed by an aftershock about 20 minutes later which was easily as strong. "It was pitch dark, very cold. Nobody in our group had a clue what to do in an earthquake," Emma Tucker said, who was in the area at the time. Image copyrightAFP Image captionThe quake razed several historic buildings to the ground Image copyrightEPA Image captionThe human cost is still becoming clear Image copyrightREUTERS Image captionThe worst impact was in small, remote towns The USGS predicted the damage could be significant, based on data from previous quakes. It said the quake struck near the Umbrian city of Norcia, whose picturesque historic centre is a popular tourist site. Jump media player Media player help Out of media player. Press enter to return or tab to continue. Media captionEmma Tucker shows the damage in the house where she is staying: "It appears to have stood up pretty well" However Norcia Mayor Nicola Alemanno said no deaths have been reported there. "The anti-seismic structures of the town have held," he said. "There is damage to the historic heritage and buildings, but we do not have any serious injuries." In 2009, a 6.3-magnitude earthquake in the Aquila region, which was also felt in the Italian capital, left more than 300 dead. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-37171953
Pope, saddened by earthquake, cancels speech to pray for victims WORLD Wednesday 24 August 2016 - 10:34am Pope Francis cancelled a speech he was to have given at his general audience and instead prayed with the crowd for victims and survivors. Photo: AFP / Vincenzo Pinto VATICAN CITY - Pope Francis, saddened by an earthquake that struck central Italy overnight, on Wednesday cancelled a speech he was to have given at his general audience and instead prayed with the crowd for victims and survivors. "Hearing the mayor of Amatrice say that the town no longer exists and hearing that there are children among the victims, I am deeply saddened," he told tens of thousands of people who had gathered in St. Peter's Square for his general audience. Amatrice was one of the mountain towns hit by the quake. At least 20 people were believed to have died in the disaster, with many dozens still missing. Francis said he would postpone his weekly address on religious teachings until next week and asked the crowd to pray with him for the victims of the quake. http://www.enca.com/world/pope-saddened-by-earthquake-cancels-speech-to-pray-for-victims
another 6.8 quake hit Burma after this one. http://www.express.co.uk/news/scien...-6-8-magnitude-quake-that-is-felt-in-Thailand
The death toll for the earthquake in Italy is up to 250 people now, very sad, approaching the death toll for the 2009 quake which was 300 people. Prayers for all the families touched by this.
