A powerful earthquake struck central Italy early today, killing more than 130 people, making up to 50,000 homeless and flattening entire medieval towns while residents slept.
As rescue workers combed through the rubble for survivors and rushed to set up tents for the homeless before night fell, officials warned the death toll could rise further and declined to estimate the number of missing.
Most of the dead were in L'Aquila, a 13th century mountain city about 100km east of Rome, and nearby towns and villages in the Abruzzo region.
The quake struck shortly after 2:30am (Irish time) and aftershocks rattled the area throughout the day.
"Some towns in the area have been virtually destroyed in their entirety," said Gianfranco Fini, speaker of the lower house of parliament, as MPs observed a moment of silence.
Abruzzo's regional government said more than 130 people were confirmed dead, some 16 hours after the quake struck with a magnitude of between 5.8 and 6.3. ANSA news agency quoted hospital sources as saying more than 150 people had died.
Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi cancelled a trip to Moscow and declared a national emergency, freeing up funds for aid and rebuilding. But he also appeared on the defensive about reports that officials shrugged off a warning about the quake weeks ago.
Flying in to the disaster zone, Berlusconi told reporters that now was the time to concentrate on relief efforts and "we can discuss afterwards about the predictability of earthquakes".
Civil Protection Department officials said up to 50,000 people may have been made homeless in some 26 cities and towns. More than 1,500 people were injured and thousands of houses, ancient churches and buildings collapsed or were damaged.
Rubble was strewn throughout L'Aquila, a city of 68,000, and nearby towns, blocking roads and hampering rescue teams. Old women wailed and residents armed with only their bare hands helped firefighters and rescue workers tear through the rubble.
In the small town of Onna, which was almost entirely razed to the ground, 24 people were killed.
Older houses and buildings made of stone, particularly in outlying villages that have not seen much restoration, collapsed like straw houses.
Hospitals appealed for help from doctors and nurses throughout Italy. The smell of gas filled parts of the mountain towns and villages, coming from mains ruptured by the quake.
Mr Berlusconi told reporters in L'Aquila that tent cities and field hospitals would be set up there and hotels on the Adriatic coast would be requisitioned to shelter thousands of homeless.
Residents of Rome, which is rarely hit by seismic activity, were woken by the quake, which rattled furniture and swayed lights in most of central Italy.
Pope Benedict said he was saying a special prayer for the victims.
Reuters