At least 73 dead after earthquake hits central Italy

이탈리아 중부 6.2 지진 마을 사라져
A deadly earthquake hit central Italy early Wednesday, taking more than 73 lives and wounding many more.
The region was also hit by a series of aftershocks, some of which were even felt more than a hundred kilometers away.
Kim Ji-yeon has the updates.
The Italian government has declared a national state of emergency after a deadly 6-point-2 magnitude earthquake swept over central Italy at the crack of dawn on Wednesday,... causing an entire town to disappear under a pile of rubble as buildings and bridges collapsed.
The Italian government says it will deploy all of its efforts to save survivors as the next few days are key for rescuing survivors.
The U.S. Geological Survey reported the quake struck at 3:36 AM and the epicenter was close to the town of Norcia.
The tremor was so strong that aftershocks were felt in the capital city of Rome, about 170 kilometers away.
An hour later,... the same region was hit by an aftershock that registered a magnitude of 5-point-5.
And in the following three hours after the original tremor,... the town of Amatrice recorded 17 aftershocks with varying magnitudes of 4-point-6 and 4-point-3.
The mayor of Amatrice, in the hardest hit area, said over the radio that "half the town is gone" and people are buried under rubble.
Aside from that, some of the heaviest damage was incurred in the mountainous regions near the epicenter, as most residents were sleeping and they were therefore unable to take shelter in time.
This is not the first time a devastating earthquake has shaken the region.
In April of 2009, more than 3-hundred people died and more than a-thousand were injured in the L'Aquila earthquake, not far from where Wednesday's earthquake struck.
Kim Ji-yeon, Arirang News.

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