A strong earthquake has brought down buildings in mountainous central Italy, killing several people and leaving others trapped under rubble.

The quake caused serious damage to a number of towns and villages, but did not seem to have hit heavily populated areas.

The worst affected towns were believed to be Accumoli, Amatrice, Posta and Arquata del Tronto.

"Now that daylight has come, we see that the situation is even more dreadful than we feared with buildings collapsed, people trapped under the rubble and no sound of life," said Accumoli mayor Stefano Petrucci.

Earlier, Mr Petrucci told RAI state broadcaster that a family of four had been buried when their house collapsed, adding that there was no indication they had survived.


The first two confirmed victims were an elderly couple whose home collapsed in Pescara del Tronto in the Marche region, according to local police. Two bodies were removed from debris in the small town of Amatrice.

"Three quarters of the town is not there anymore," Amatrice mayor Sergio Pirozzi told RAI.

"The aim now is to save as many lives as possible. There are voices under the rubble; we have to save the people there."
A reporter said the town's hospital had been badly damaged by the quake, with patients moved into the streets.


The earthquake caused damage to towns in three regions — Umbria, Lazio and Marche.

The Department of Foreign Affairs said it was making "urgent enquiries" to determine if any Australians were affected.

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), which measured the quake at magnitude 6.2, said the quake struck near the Umbrian city of Norcia, which has a picturesque historic centre and is a major tourist site.


Mayor Nicola Alemanno said no deaths had been reported in Norcia.

"The anti-seismic structures of the town have held," he told RAI. "There is damage to the historic heritage and buildings, but we do not have any serious injuries."


Lina Mercantini of Ceselli, Umbria, said: "It was so strong. It seemed the bed was walking across the room by itself with us on it."

Prime Minister Matteo Renzi's spokesman said on Twitter that the Government was in touch with the civil protection agency and following the situation closely.

There were 17 reported aftershocks in the three hours following the initial quake, the strongest measuring 5.5, the Italian seismic office said.

The quake was felt as far away as Rome, around 150 kilometres away from the epicentre, and woke a number of people there.

On April 6, 2009, the nearby city of L'Aquila was reduced to rubble by a magnitude 6.3 quake. More than 300 people were killed and 1,000 injured.

Six scientists and a former government official were sentenced to six years in jail for multiple manslaughter after failing to properly evaluate the danger and giving wrong advice about that earthquake.

http://mobile.abc.net.au/news/2016-08-24/half-of-town-gone-after-earthquake-italy-amatrice-mayor/7780716?pfmredir=sm

This is really bad as the death toll keep rising .
37 people are now confirmed dead