The US president Barack Obama has extended his “deepest condolences” to Italy on behalf of the American people. The White House issued a press release late on Wednesday, confirming that the president had spoken by phone with the Italian president Sergio Mattarella:
President Obama saluted the quick action of first responders and volunteers who have been working to save lives. Reaffirming the strong bonds of friendship between the United States and Italy, the President underscored that the United States stands ready to provide any assistance needed during this difficult time.”
Today, @POTUS spoke with President Mattarella of Italy to offer condolences and support following the earthquake: pic.twitter.com/ENAmAwdfVt
The US provides no development assistance to Italy, but the two cooperate closely on major economic issues, including within the G8. The US is one of Italy’s most significant trade partners, with two-way trade totalling over US $60bn last year.
I’m handing over of continuing coverage of the earthquake in Italy now. Here’s a summary of events so far:
At least 159 people have been killed in the 6.2 magnitude earthquake that struck central Italy on Wednesday. There’s been widespread damage to parts of italy, with the town of Amatrice suffering major damage. There are also 368 people who have been injured.
A major search a rescue effort will continue into the night in Italy. The Italian prime minister has said he will commit all available resources to the aftermath of the quake.
The town of Amatrice was planning to hold one of their biggest celebrations of the year just a few days from now. Here’s an AP report outlining some of the background of the town:
In three days, the rugged residents of the medieval Italian hill town of Amatrice had planned to hold one of their most joyful events of the year: the 50th edition of a food festival celebrating their beloved Amatriciana pasta dish, which is made from local ingredients.
Instead, they will now be mourning the dozens dead from a strong earthquake that trapped residents in their homes as they slept.
Due to the upcoming food festival, known as a sagra, there was an influx of visitors to the town, so it was very hard to know how many people were sleeping Wednesday morning in Amatrice when the quake struck at 3:36 a.m.
The mayor said about 70 people had been staying in the Hotel Roma, a town landmark that has a restaurant which serves the famous pasta dish. Rescue workers pulled five bodies from the rubble of the hotel but had to halt rescue operations late Wednesday night because it was too dangerous working in the dark.
Roberto Renzi said he was sleeping “soundly and most tranquilly” when he was jostled awake by the 6.2-magnitude tremor. He said he instantly knew this quake was far, far worse than the “little movements” locals are used to in this quake-prone belt straddling Italy’s rocky Apennines mountains.
His three-story house and the one next to it miraculously remained standing, but the door to his third-floor bedroom was jammed by the quake.
He grabbed a fire stoker and pried the door open and ran with his wife to the safety of the street. Renzi said a woman who owns a bed and breakfast across the street escaped by knotting bed sheets and climbing down her building.
Some people never made it out of their beds at all. Dozens are dead in Amatrice amid an overall toll of at least 120 people killed and over 360 injured in the region by the quake, according to Italy’s prime minister.
And the death toll could rise as rescuers with sniffer dogs prepared to work through the night, checking house after house that had collapsed into mounds of dust and twisted metal.
One reader has sent in this harrowing account of the moment the quake struck:
It was exactly 3.37 am. We live about 45 km away in Belmonte Piceno, Le Marche. The first tremor lasted for maybe 20-30 seconds, growing in intensity before subsiding. Our house, reconstructed 12 years ago, was built to withstand earthquakes but still wobbled and shook like a jelly!...It was pretty nerve racking and when the second tremor came around, although shorter and less intense, the house began shaking once again. At this point we debated whether or not to sleep in the car (my wife’s idea) but after the second tremor nothing further of any note was felt and decided to stay in the house...Needless to say none of got any sleep after 3.37!
This before and after gallery shows the devastating toll the quake has taken on some of the towns in central Italy. The towns of Amatrice and Arquata del Tronto were among those struck the worst by the quake, and where a number of reports of injuries and deaths are continuing to emerge.
Italy’s emergency service has been posting a series of images and videos that show the massive search and rescue effort underway. It shows them working to remove young children from the rubble and debris. Here’s some of what they’ve been posting:
Just to provide some further context for the quake and how it occurred, The US Geological survey has a summary available that sets out some of the details. As it also notes, the location is quite close to another extensive quake that occurred in 2009 which caused widespread damage:
The August 24, 2016 M 6.2 earthquake southeast of Norcia, Italy, occurred as the result of shallow normal faulting on a NW-SE oriented fault in the Central Apennines. The Apennines is a mountain range that runs from the Gulf of Taranto in the south to the southern edge of the Po basin in northern Italy. Geologically, the Apennines is largely an accretionary wedge formed as a consequence of subduction. This region is tectonically and geologically complex, involving both subduction of the Adria micro-plate beneath Eurasia and the Apennines from east to west, continental collision between the Eurasia and Nubia (Africa) plates building the Alpine mountain belt further to the north and the opening of the Tyrrhenian basin to the west. The evolution of this system has caused the expression of all different tectonic styles acting at the same time in a broad region surrounding Italy and the central Mediterranean. The August 24, 2016 normal faulting earthquake is an intraplate event, an expression of the east-west extensional tectonics that now dominate along the Apennine belt, primarily a response to the Tyrrhenian basin opening faster than the compression between the Eurasia and Nubia (Africa) plates.
The central Apennine region has experienced several significant earthquakes in recorded history. In September 1997, a Mw 6.0 earthquake 50 km north-northwest of the August 24, 2016 event killed 11, injured over 100 and destroyed approximately 80,000 homes in the Marche and Umbria regions.
This drone footage gives a sense of the scale of damage in Amatrice, one of the towns closest to the epicentre of the quake. It’s extraordinary footage and shows the dozens of homes and buildings reduced to rubble.
Welcome to our continuing coverage of events in Italy following a 6.2 magnitude quake. A major search and rescue effort is still underway in central Italy now, where the epicentre of the quake was located. Here’s a short summary of events at the moment:
The death toll in Italy continues to rise following the devastating earthquake. At least 159 people have been killed and more than 368 have been injured.
Towns in central Italy have experienced widespread devastation. The mayor of Amatrice said that half of the town “isn’t here anymore”.
The prime minister of Italy, Matteo Renzi, is set to visit some of the areas most affected by the quake, and said he would mobilise resources as quickly as possible to continue the search and rescue effort.
The US geological survey said this was the largest quake in Italy since 2009.
