Death toll rises to 267 as hopes for survivors begin to dim.

Strong aftershocks rattled residents and rescue crews alike Friday as hopes began to dim that firefighters would find any more survivors from Italy’s earthquake. The first funerals were scheduled to be observed for some of the 267 dead.

Some of hard-hit Amatrice’s crumbled buildings suffered more cracks after the biggest aftershock of the morning struck at 6-28 a.m. The U.S. Geological Service said it had a magnitude of 4.7, while the Italian geophysics institute measured it at 4.8.

The aftershock was preceded by more than a dozen weaker ones overnight and was followed by another nine in the subsequent hour some of the nearly 1,000 aftershocks that have rocked the seismic area of Italy’s central Apennine Mountains in the two days since the original quake Wednesday.

Rescue efforts continued through the night, but more than a day-and-a-half had passed since the last person was extracted alive from the rubble. While Premier Matteo Renzi hailed the fact that 215 people had been rescued since the quake, civil protection officials reported only a steadily rising death toll that stood early on Friday at 267.

Nevertheless, civil protection operations chief Immacolata Postiglione insisted that the rescue effort continued in full, “in search of other people trapped in the rubble.”

Italian news reports said the first funerals were to be observed on Friday for some of the victims -- in Rome, for the son of a local police chief; in Pomezia Terme for two grandmothers and their two grandchildren </s> Italian authorities say the death toll in central Italy's devastating earthquake has risen to 278.

Civil protection officials gave the updated toll at a briefing Friday afternoon, adding that 238 other people caught up in the quake were rescued.

The death toll in the Arquata area of the earthquake zone has stabilized with 49 dead hailing from the region. Firefighting official Bruno Frattasi says there are no more people there unaccounted for, and efforts now were making sure all the dead were returned to their loved ones.

The situation remains more uncertain in the Amatrice area, where the vast majority of earthquake dead have come from. The mayor estimates at least 15 more people remain unaccounted for there.

Romania says at least 21 of its citizens are still missing in the earthquake zone.

Destruction from Italy quake a grave warning for California's old brick buildings

Crews find living among the dead as search goes on for survivors of Italy quake that killed hundreds </s> A powerful earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.6 has rocked central Italy, sending already quake-damaged buildings crumbling after a week of tremors that have left thousands homeless.

There were no immediate reports of injuries or death.

Residents already rattled by a constant trembling of the earth rushed into piazzas and streets after being roused from bed by yesterday’s 7:40 am quake.

Nuns rushed out of their church in Norcia as the clock tower appeared about to crumble.

“We are definitely seeing some damage [already],” journalist Seema Gupta, reporting from Rome, told Al Jazeera.

“We are seeing images of smoke covered over buildings that have crumbled to the ground,” she added. “Many are centuries-old buildings not built to modern standards.”

The quake measured 6.6 according to the US Geological Survey and was centred close to the Umbrian town of Norcia, where the historic Basilica of St. Benedict was badly damaged.

The Survey also said the quake was centred 132 km northeast of Rome and 68 km east of Perugia, near the epicentre of last week’s trembols.

It reportedly had a depth of 1.5 km, a relatively shallow quake near the surface but in the norm for the quake-prone Apennine Mountain region.

The earthquake was the biggest since almost 300 people were killed in central Italy on August 24 by a quake that levelled several small towns.— Al Jazeera. </s> ROME (Sputnik) — The death toll in central Italy avalanche rises to 17 after discovery of one more body, local media reported Tuesday, citing a source in the rescue team.

Earlier in the day, the rescue team found the bodies of two people.

A total of 12 people remain unaccounted for, while 11 people were found alive.

On January 18, central Italy was shaken by a series of earthquakes, with the biggest jolts ranging from 5.1 to 5.7 in magnitude and felt in Rome. On the same day, the avalanche in the region of Abruzzo buried the Rigopiano di Farindola hotel with dozens of guests and staff inside. </s> A powerful 6.6-magnitude earthquake struck central Italy on Sunday morning close to the area where nearly 300 people were killed by a quake in August.

The USGS said the quake was centered 6 km (3.7 miles) north of Norcia, a town in the province of Perugia.

The ancient town of Norcia has been left in ruins following the powerful earthquake which knocked its historical 13th century Basilica of St Benedict and other buildings to the ground.

No deaths have been reported, but Civil Protection says a number of people have been injured.

The medieval basilica of St Benedict in Norcia, the town closest to the epicentre, was among buildings destroyed.

An evacuation of buildings in the region deemed vulnerable to seismic activity last week, following strong aftershocks from August’s quake, may have saved lives.

Tremors from this latest earthquake were felt in the capital Rome, where the Metro system was shut down, and as far away as Venice in the north.

The head of the national civil protection agency, Fabrizio Curcio, said there had been extensive damage to many historic buildings but no deaths had been registered.

“About 20 people are injured. As far as people are concerned, the situation is positive, but many buildings are in a critical state in historic centres and there are problems with electricity and water supplies,” he added.

Prime Minister Matteo Renzi has promised that everything will be rebuilt, saying resources will be found.

“We are going through a really tough period,” he said. “We must not allow the profound pain, fatigue and stress that we have now to turn into resignation.”

Pope Francis mentioned the quake in his Sunday blessing in Rome’s St Peter’s Square.

“I’m praying for the injured and the families who have suffered the most damage, as well as for rescue and first-aid workers,” he said to loud applause.

According to Ansa the cathedral of Saint Maria Silver and the town hall were also reported to have been damaged along with the 4th century church in Rome commonly known as ‘St Paul’s Outside the Walls’.

The news agency reported that cornices fell and cracks appeared in the walls after the quake struck central Italy and shook many buildings in the capital. </s> ROME (CNN) — At least one person has died and many others are feared dead after an avalanche buried a hotel in central Italy following a series of earthquakes.

At least 22 guests and several staff members were at the Hotel Rigopiano at the foot of the Gran Sasso mountain when it was hit by the avalanche on Wednesday, Antonio Crocetta, a rescue group leader in the area told Italian state media.

Two people have been rescued from the site, the head of Italy’s Civil Protection Department, Fabrizio Curcio, said in a media briefing. Weather conditions are making the rescue operation difficult, he said.

Rescue workers had not been able to reach the area until the early hours of Thursday as heavy snowfall hit central Italy for several days. The area is a popular ski destination, mostly with Italian tourists.

Central Italy was rocked by more than 10 tremors on Wednesday, four of them above a magnitude of 5, according to the US Geological Survey.

An initial 5.3-magnitude quake hit in the morning near the town of of Amatrice, a town devastated by powerful temblors last year, and the tremors continued for more than six hours, including one as strong as 5.7.

While the epicenter was 90 kilometers northeast of Rome, the quake was felt strongly in the capital, sending people running from buildings in a panic.

All the aftershocks have hit around Amatrice, in the mountainous regions of Marche, Lazio and Abruzzo.

Nearly 300 people died in central Italy in quakes around Amatrice in August, and the town center, once popular with tourists, was reduced to rubble. </s> A 4.7-magnitude aftershock has hit the Italian town of Amatrice as rescuers and emergency teams continue their search of three flattened hilltop towns and Italy declares a state of emergency in the region.

With the provisional death toll from Wednesday’s 6.2-magnitude quake standing at 267, including several foreigners, the Italian prime minister, Matteo Renzi, authorised a preliminary €50m (£43m) in emergency funding for the stricken zone.

The powerful aftershock, the latest of more than 500 since the initial quake, hit the area shortly after dawn on Friday, sending up plumes of thick grey dust, shaking buildings that were still standing and fuelling fears of fresh collapses which could hamper the rescue operation.

In a first raft of emergency relief measures, Renzi cancelled residents’ taxes in and around the hardest-hit towns of Amatrice, Accumoli, Arquata del Tronto and Pescara del Tronto, between 60 and 90 miles (95-145km) north-east of Rome.

Most of the confirmed deaths were in Amatrice, where 193 people had died, includingthree Britons: Marcos Burnett, 14, who was on holiday with his parents and sister, and 55-year-old Will Henniker-Gotley and his wife Maria, 51, from south London. Marco’s parents are being treated for minor injuries in hospital.

The UK foreign secretary, Boris Johnson, said on Thursday that extra staff had been sent to the region. Six Romanians, a Canadian, a Spaniard and a Salvadoran were also killed.

The 2,500-strong population of the medieval hilltop town, voted one of Italy’s most beautiful historic towns last year, was swollen with summer visitors, many from Rome, in anticipation of its popular annual food festival this weekend.

But while 215 people had been pulled alive from the rubble since Wednesday and more than 360 were being treated in hospital, questions were mounting as to why there had been so many deaths in an area known for decades to be the most seismically hazardous in Europe.

After a 2009 earthquake in nearby L’Aquila left 300 people dead, authorities released €1bn to upgrade buildings in the region, but takeup has been low. Despite eight devastating earthquakes in 40 years, experts estimate 70% of Italy’s buildings do not meet seismic standards.

“Here, in the middle of a seismic zone, nothing has ever been done,” Dario Nanni, of Italy’s architects’ council, told Agence France-Presse. “It does not cost that much more when renovating a building to make it comply with earthquake standards. But less than 20% of buildings do.”

The culture minister said 293 historical buildings had been damaged or destroyed by the quake and public prosecutors announced an investigation into whether anyone could be held responsible.

Meanwhile, Renzi announced plans to help the country prepare better and address poor building standards, saying Italy should “have a plan that is not just limited to the management of emergency situations”. 



But the prime minister said suggestions that the country could easily construct quake-proof buildings were “absurd”. It was difficult to imagine, he said after a cabinet meeting, that the level of destruction from Wednesday’s quake “could have been avoided simply by using different building technology. We’re talking about medieval-era towns.”

In Amatrice and the surrounding small towns and villages hopes of finding more survivors were fading; no one had been recovered alive since Wednesday night. The focus was now on helping the more than 1,200 people left homeless.

About 5,400 emergency workers, firefighters, soldiers and volunteers, helped by 50 sniffer dogs, continued to sift through piles of cement, rock and twisted metal, many pointing out that the last survivor from the L’Aquila quake was found 72 hours after it struck.

“We will work relentlessly until the last person is found, and make sure no one is trapped,” said one rescue team spokesman, Lorenzo Botti.

Some survivors, having slept in their cars or in tent cities set up outside the towns, were allowed to pick up essential items from their homes on Thursday accompanied by rescue workers.

“Last night we slept in the car. Tonight, I don’t know,” said Nello Caffini, carrying his sister-in-law’s belongings on his head through Pescara del Tronto, which was almost completely destroyed.

Italy’s older buildings are not obliged to conform to anti-seismic building codes, and experts estimate it could cost more than €90bn to reinforce all the country’s historic buildings. Targeted improvement work, though, could be effective.

Compounding the problem is the fact that many more modern buildings do not comply with regulations when they are built, and often prove deadlier than older constructions when an earthquake strikes.

News reports in Amatrice said investigators were looking in particular into the town’s Romolo Capranica school, which was restored in 2012 using funds provided after the L’Aquila quake. It all but collapsed on Wednesday, while the town’s 13th-century clock tower remained standing.

“We are able to prevent all these deaths,” Armando Zambrano, of the national council of engineers, told the Associated Press. “The problem is actually doing it. These tragedies keep happening because we don’t intervene. After each tragedy we say we will act but then the weeks go by and nothing happens.” </s> A powerful earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.6 has rocked central and southern Italy.

It has sent already damaged buildings crumbling after a week of quakes in the area that have left thousands homeless.

There were no immediate reports of injuries or death.

Residents already rattled by a constant trembling of the earth rushed into piazzas and streets after being roused from bed by the quake which struck at 7.40am local time.

Nuns rushed out of their church in Norcia as the clock tower appeared about to crumble.

The European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre put the magnitude at 6.6 or 6.5 with an epicentre of 132 kilometres north-east of Rome and 67 kilometres east of Perugia, near the epicentre of last week’s quakes.

The US Geological Survey put the magnitude at 6.6.

The German Research Centre for Geosciences put the magnitude at 6.5 and said it had a depth of 10 kilometres, a relatively shallow quake near the surface but in the norm for the quake-prone Apennine Mountain region. </s> Italy has been rocked by a magnitude 6.6 earthquake, hitting the central Italian region already reeling from a series of large quakes.

The epicentre of the quake, according to initial reports, was about 68km south-west of Perugia and close to the town of Norcia, which had been hit by two successive quakes on Wednesday night that caused extensive damage.

There were no initial reports of fatalities but the head of the civil protection agency, Fabrizio Curcio, said “a dozen” people were injured, with one person described as being in a serious condition.

Emergency services pulled out three people alive from the rubble in the town of Tolentino in Marche.

While there was relief that the area seemed to have been spared mass causalities - in large part because affected areas had already been abandoned after the previous quake - the damage wreaked on ancient structures across the hilly region of Marche and Umbria underscored that the landscape of this historic region would never be the same again.

The quake, which was felt in Rome and Naples, levelled historic structures that had already sustained major damage, including a tower and St Augustine church in Amatrice - the town devastated by a major earthquake in August that killed about 300 people.

In Norcia, a town in Umbria, the basilica of San Benedetto was destroyed, as was the town’s cathedral, where only remnants of the church’s facade still stood.

On Sunday morning, live television images showed firefighters in Norcia’s main square helping people running down small alleyways seeking safety. They included many monks and nuns in their habits from a nearby monastery.

Authorities were also reporting extensive damage in other towns of the region. Apart from Rome and Naples, tremors were also felt in neighbouring countries including Slovenia and Croatia.

“It all came down. Now there is no more town,” said the mayor of Arquata del Tronto, Aleandro Petrucci. There had already been “red zones” in place, abandoned after the previous quakes. “The few people who remained have gone out to the streets and are embracing. Now we’re going around to see what happened,” he said.

Cesare Spuri, the head of civil protection in Marche, said: “There are collapses everywhere. We report collapses in Muccia, Tolentino and in the areas surrounding Macerata. We’re trying to establish if people are underneath the rubble. There was also a strong shock in Ancona.”

“Everything’s collapsed. I see plumes of smoke, it’s a disaster,” said Marco Rinaldi, the mayor of Ussita, a town in the Marche region that was among the worst hit in a 6.1-magnitude quake that struck Italy on Wednesday night.

In Rome, the quake caused far more concern than Wednesday’s as it was felt much more strongly and for a longer period. The city’s metro was shut down for safety checks in case of damage.

“I was woken up by the earthquake,” Gianpaolo Giovannelli, who lives in the Flaminio area of Rome, told the Guardian. “The apartment started to shake. We feel them here in Rome, but we never get used to them so each time we feel fear.”

Assia Staffoli, a mother of two from Rome, said her husband put their six-year-old daughter under the table when they felt the earthquake, which caused their bedrooms, on a mezzanine level, to shake badly.

“That’s what you’re told to do when there’s an earthquake, go under the table,” Ms Staffoli said. “I was feeding my son [aged seven months] when it happened. We then quickly left the apartment.”
The search continues for survivors in central Italy with the death toll now 241. An aftershock of 4.7 MMS hits further east in the province near Norcia.