At least 90 people have been killed and 1,500 have been injured after a 6.3 magnitude earthquake struck the city of L'Aquila. The quake struck at 03:30 (local time) this morning close to the mountain city of L'Aquila, 95 km North East of the capital, Rome.
Rescuers are desperately picking through the rubble in search of survivors whilst emergency teams are also erecting tents on tennis courts and football pitches to accommodate the 30,000 people who have been left homeless. After declaring a state of emergency, Italian Prime Minister, Silvio Berlusconi, announced that he would send a "record number of rescuers" to deal with the crisis. A speaker at the Italian Parliament, Gianfranco Fini, announced that "some towns in the area have been virtually destroyed in their entirety." Many of the renaissance and baroque buildings in the area were destroyed by the 30 second long quake, including the dome of the church in L'Aquila. Around 10,000 medieval buildings were damaged and many houses were reduced to piles of rubble. The earthquake also disturbed boulders, which rolled down mountain-sides destroying buildings and blocking roads.
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