A 6.2 magnitude earthquake rattled central Italy early Wednesday morning, killing at least 73 people.
The small town of Amatrice, a popular tourist spot, was worst-hit by the quake, which was felt by people as far away as Rome, Reuters reports. “Half the town is gone,” Sergio Pirozzi, the mayor of Amatrice, told reporters. “There are people under the rubble. There’s been a landslide and a bridge might collapse.” Due to collapsed buildings and rubble in the streets, rescuers have had difficulty accessing areas. The hospital also had to be evacuated due to structural damage.
The quake is comparable in intensity to the 2009 L’Aquila earthquake, which killed more than 300. Massimo Cialente, the mayor of L’Aquila, is using the temporary homes built after the 2009 earthquake to house the victims of this newest quake.
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