A powerful 6.2-magnitude earthquake struck central Italy in the early hours of Wednesday, devastating mountain villages and leaving at least 10 people dead.
Numerous buildings collapsed in small communities close to the epicentre of the quake in a remote, thinly-populated area straddling the regions of Umbria, Marche and Lazio.
As dawn broke, residents and emergency services were scrambling to rescue people trapped in rubble. Local officials indicated that the death toll was likely to rise.
Fabrizio Curcio, the head of Italy's civil protection service, classed the quake as "severe". The shocks were strong enough to wake residents of central Rome, some 150 kilometres (90 miles) away.
The first two confirmed victims were an elderly couple whose home collapsed in Pescara del Tronto in the Marche region, according to local police.
Aleandro Petrucci, the mayor of nearby Arquata del Tronto, said Pescara was one of "two or three hamlets that have just completely disintegrated."
Another person died and a family of four including two young children were trapped, feared dead, in their collapsed house in Accumoli, according to its mayor.
"We have a tragedy here," the mayor, Stefano Petrucci, said. "For the moment one death is confirmed but there are another four people under the rubble and they are not responding.
"It is a disaster, we have no light, no telephones, the rescue services have not got here yet."
A resident of the village told Rai that she had been woken by the shaking in time to witness the wall of her bedroom cracking open. She was able to escape into the street with her children.
- Voices under rubble -
Two corpses were recovered from rubble in Amatrice, a mountain village in neighbouring Lazio that was packed with visitors at the peak of the summer season.
"Half the village has disappeared," said Sergio Pirozzi, Amatrice's mayor.
He said access to the village had been blocked, making it impossible for emergency services to get through.
"There is a landslide on one road, a bridge is about to collapse on the other one," he said, according to the AGI news agency.
"We can hear voices under the rubble."
Amatrice is famous in Italy as a beauty spot and is a popular holiday destination for Romans seeking cool mountain air at the height of the summer.
The first quake struck shortly after 3.30 am (0130 GMT), according to the United States Geological Survey, and a 5.4 magnitude aftershock followed an hour later.
USGS's PAGER system, which predicts the impact of earthquakes, issued a red alert -- suggesting significant casualties and damage based on previous quake data.
A resident of the Rieti region, which is between Rome and the epicentre of the quake, told the Rainews24 channel that she and most of her neighbours had come out onto the street after feeling "very strong shaking".
In 2009 a 6.3-magnitude earthquake struck close to the city of Aquila in the Abruzzo region and left more than 300 people dead.
That disaster led to lengthy recriminations over lax building controls and the failure of authorities to warn residents that a quake could be imminent.
Italy is often shaken by earthquakes, usually centred on the mountainous spine of the boot-shaped country.
Another quake hit the northern Emilia Romagna region in May 2012, when two violent shocks 10 days apart left 23 people dead and 14,000 others homeless.
AFP
Wed Aug 24 2016
The first confirmed victims of a quake which destroyed dozens of villages were an elderly couple whose home collapsed at Pescara del Tronto.
Bio-Home lancar stesen pengisian semula eco, yang pertama seumpamanya
Jenama pembersihan rumah mesra alam dari Lam Soon, Bio-Home, melancarkan stesen pengisian semula eco pertama, menandakan langkah penting komitmen dalam menangani isu sisa plastik.
Anwar beri penghormatan terakhir kepada mendiang Joseph Kurup
Perdana Menteri Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim hari ini memberi penghormatan terakhir kepada mendiang Tan Sri Joseph Kurup di Wisma Fook Lu Siew di Kota Kinabalu.
Penghantar makanan, kanak-kanak dua tahun maut nahas jalan raya
Seorang wanita dan anaknya yang berusia dua tahun maut dalam nahas jalan raya membabitkan dua kenderaan di Kilometer 10.2 Jalan Batu Caves menghala ke Selayang, malam Jumaat.
Microsoft uji VASA, watak AI untuk panggilan video bebas kamera web
Microsoft Research memperlihatkan VASA iaitu sistem AI yang boleh menjana wajah manusia yang hiper-realistik berserta dengan emosi pada wajah.
Malaysia, Thailand tingkatkan kerjasama perangi jenayah rentas sempadan
Kerjasama itu telah dibincangkan ketika mesyuarat dua hala beliau dengan Timbalan Perdana Menteri merangkap Menteri Dalam Negeri Thailand Anutin Charnvirakul pada Khamis.
YouTube uji ciri 'tanya AI' untuk rumuskan video
Apabila butang Ask ditekan, beberapa dialog diberikan oleh chatbot dengan gambar profil seakan ikon Gemini.
Usaha cari bakat baharu golongan Orang Asli, luar bandar perlu dipergiat - Hannah
Kementerian Belia dan Sukan tidak sesekali akan meminggirkan kanak-kanak Orang Asli dan luar bandar dalam menyediakan peluang dan akses untuk bersukan.
Lelaki bakar diri di luar mahkamah perbicaraan Trump meninggal dunia
Maxwell Azzarello didakwa menuang cecair mudah terbakar pada tubuhnya sebelum melemparkan risalah teori konspirasi ke udara.
PKR Sabah minta PM tumpu ikhtiar noktah kemiskinan tegar, isu dokumentasi
Tumpuan kepada ikhtiar menoktahkan kemiskinan tegar dan isu dokumentasi rakyat antara tiga cadangan khusus diutarakan Majlis Pimpinan Negeri (MPN) PKR Sabah kepada Perdana Menteri.
Harga jualan maksimum benih padi sah program IBPS RM54, RM58
Harga jualan maksimum benih padi sah CL220 bagi program Insentif Benih Padi Sah (IBPS) ditetapkan pada kadar RM54 di peringkat pemborong dan RM58 di peringkat peruncit berkuat kuasa 15 April.
Indonesia rattled by 7.6 magnitude quake, tsunami warning lifted
Indonesia was struck by a 7.6 magnitude earthquake on Tuesday off the Tanimbar islands, prompting panicked residents to flee their homes, although a tsunami warning was lifted after three hours.
Gempa Sulawesi: 45 maut, ratusan lagi cedera
Pasukan penyelamat hari ini mencari dan menyelamat mangsa-mangsa yang dikhuatiri tertimbus.
Gempa bumi 5.8 magnitud gegar Filipina, 51 cedera
Sekurangnya 51 orang cedera manakala beberapa rumah, gereja dan bangunan musnah dalam gempa bumi berukuran magnitud 5.8 yang menggegarkan selatan Filipina pagi Sabtu.
Mangsa gempa warga Malaysia di Taiwan meninggal dunia
Choo Yip Chean meninggal dunia berpunca daripada kecederaan akibat gempa bumi di Taroko Gorge National Park pada 18 April lalu.
Gempa Osaka: Tiga maut termasuk kanak-kanak
Mereka yang maut adalah seorang kanak-kanak perempuan 9 tahun dan dua lelaki warga emas.
Osaka earthquake: Three dead, more than 10 injured
An elderly man and a young girl were killed, with several others in "cardiopulmonary arrest", after walls collapsed in a magnitude-6.1 earthquake in Osaka.
Major quake cuts communications, halts oil and gas operations in Papua New Guinea
At least one company began evacuating non-essential personnel after a powerful 7.5 magnitude earthquake hit Papua New Guinea's energy-rich interior on Monday.
MOSTI bangunkan standard reka bentuk bangunan tahan gempa
Standard yang dibangunkan ini akan menyediakan garis panduan kepada pihak berkuasa tempatan berkenaan reka bentuk struktur bangunan yang tahan kepada gempa bumi,- jelas kenyataan itu.
No Malaysians affected in Iran's quake
The Embassy of Malaysia in Tehran informed that no Malaysian were reported to be present at the earthquake hit area.
Selebriti dunia lahir rasa simpati terhadap mangsa gempa Nepal
Laman sosial menjadi medan reaksi para selebriti mengenai bencana gempa bumi yang melanda Nepal