Dozens Dead as Shallow 6.2 Quake Shakes Rome, Devastates Towns in Central Italy

A powerful 6.2-magnitude earthquake followed by a series of aftershocks has rocked central Italy. Strong tremors were felt in the country’s capital, Rome, and several small towns and villages have been seriously damaged with dozens reportedly killed and hundreds injured, According to RT.

The death toll from the earthquake has risen to 84, local boradcaster RAI has reported.

 Fabrizio Curcio, the head of Civilian Defense service, who is now in Amatrice, reported that in that town and adjacent Accumoli alone the number of those dead has soared to 60.

At the same time, the Civilian Defense service of the Marche region stated that 24 people had been killed in the quake there.

The quake hit at 01:36 GMT with an epicenter 76 kilometers southeast of the city of Perugia, the US Geological Survey reported.

The town of Norcia, home to some 5,000 residents, lies just 10km southeast of the quake’s epicenter, according to US Geological Survey (USGS). The ancient Italian city of Spoleto in the Perugia province with some 40,000 residents is located 35km east of the quake.

The earthquake hit 126km north of Rome, the largest and most populous city of the region with 2.6 million people.

The shaking appears to have woken up quite a few residents in central Italy. Besides Rome, aftershocks were also felt in Florence.

H.M