Several Italian towns reported razed, at least 73 dead in 'severe' earthquake

A magnitude 6.1 earthquake that rocked central Italy early Wednesday morning has killed at least 73 people and destroyed buildings in several towns in the provinces of Lazio and Umbria, according to Italian officials. "Half the town no longer exists," Sergio Pirozzi, mayor of Amatrice, said on national TV. "There are people stuck in the rubble.... Houses are no longer there." Damage and power outages were also reported as far away as Italy's east coast and in coastal Lazio, south of Rome. Along with Amatrice, the towns of Accumoli and Norcia were also badly damaged.

The epicenter of the shallow quake, identified as a 6.2 magnitude temblor by the U.S. Geological Survey and 6.1 by the European Mediterranean Seismological Center, was about 100 miles northeast of Rome. Buildings shook for about 20 seconds in Italy's capital. Fabrizio Curcio, director of Italy's Civil Protection Department, said that the overnight earthquake had been "severe" and that Italy has initiated its emergency protocols. More than 300 people were killed in a magnitude 6.3 earthquake in central Italy in 2009.

This article has been updated to reflect the rising death toll.

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