Strong earthquakes kill, trap several people in central Italy

ROME — Strong earthquakes struck central Italy early Wednesday, killing several people, trapping many others under debris and setting off 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 Accumoli, in the province of Rieti.

The mayor of Accumoli reported that people had been killed there. And at least two people were reported to have been killed in Pescara del Tronto in the province of Ascoli Piceno, according to the authorities

Severe damage was reported in Amatrice, where Mayor Sergio Pirozzi said, “Half the town no longer exists.” He added that Amatrice 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 emergency services to help clear roads. “Houses are no longer there,” he added, suggesting that victims had been buried in the rubble.

The paths of destruction led to other places, including the Tyrrhenian coast. A witness in Sperlonga, a popular seaside town in Lazio, said that the historic city center had been seriously damaged, and news channels showed photos of crumbled buildings, and rubble-covered cars.

The earthquake was felt from Rome to Bologna, in Emilia Romagna, in a broad area pockmarked with dozens of small towns, and Italian officials said it was difficult to gauge the number of casualties or the damage as the earth trembled throughout the night.

Fabrizio Curcio, the director of Italy’s Civil Protection Department, said that the earthquake had been “severe” and that national emergency procedures had been activated.

The National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology reported that there had been nearly a dozen other earthquakes in the affected area over the course of about two hours. None were as strong as the 6.2 quake.

The U.S. Geological Survey said the population in the region lives in structures that are a “mix of vulnerable and earthquakeresistant construction.”