Italian town faces new obstacles: blocked roads
uation has worsened considerably,” Pirozzi told reporters. “We have to make sure Amatrice does not become isolated, or risk further help being unable to get through.”
The biggest aftershock struck at 6:28 a.m., one of the more than 1,000 that have hit the area since Wednesday’s quake. The U.S. Geological Service said it had a magnitude of 4.7, while the Italian geophysics institute measured it at 4.8.
It left one key access bridge to Amatrice unusable, and damaged another one. Crews began clearing trees to create an alternate bypass road to avoid the nearly 25-mile detour up and down mountain roads that they were forced to use Friday, slowing the rescue effort.
Even before the roads were shut down, traffic into and out of Amatrice was horribly congested with emergency vehicles and dump trucks.
Premier Matteo Renzi declared a state of emergency and authorized $56 million for immediate quake relief.