Central Italy has been hit by a 6.2 magnitude earthquake.

So far, there are 247 reported deaths, and 150+ missing people.

  • Rescuers are still searching for more survivors, and many volunteers worked through the night, digging through rubble with their bare hands to save people.
  • Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi said that, “no family, no city, no hamlet will be left alone.”

  • The earthquake happened at 03:36am local time, when most people were sleeping.
  • Many had to rush outside in their sleepwear with none of their possessions.

  • The epicenter was about 65 miles north east of the capital, Rome.

  • Near the epicenter, a large portion of the dead were in the town of Accumoli, and Amatrice where the town was mostly reduced to rubble.
  • The mayor of Arquata del Tronto said his “village isn’t there any more. Almost all the houses in Pescara del Tronto have collapsed.”
  • Italian President Sergio Mattarella said this earthquake was “a moment of grief and of appeal to shared responsibility.”
Photo Credit: USGS