A strong earthquake brought down buildings in mountainous central Italy early yesterday, killing hundreds of people.
Many other residents have been trapped under rubble, or have had to flee their homes.
Here are the country's most deadly quakes over the past 30 years:
- August 24, 2016: A 6.0 or 6.2 magnitude quake hits mountain villages in a remote area straddling the regions of Umbria, Marche and Lazio. Over 240 people are killed and dozens more are injured, trapped or missing.
- May 2012: Two violent shocks 10 days apart leave 23 people dead and 14,000 others homeless in the northern Emilia Romagna region.
- April 6, 2009: An earthquake rattles central Italy leaving 309 people dead, around 65,000 homeless and toppling priceless churches and monuments. L'Aquila, the capital of the mountainous region of the Abruzzo, bears the brunt of the disaster.
- October 31, 2002: Thirty people are killed and 61 injured when the village of San Giuliano di Puglia in the central eastern region of Molise is hit by a violent earthquake. Twenty-seven children and their teacher are crushed under their schoolhouse in the tiny mediaeval village.
- September 6, 2002: An earthquake kills two in Palermo, Sicily.
- July 17, 2001: At least three people are killed in an earthquake in Alto Adige, near Bolzano in northern Italy.
- September 26 and October 3, 1997: Two earthquakes shake Umbria in central Italy and Marche in the east within the space of a week. Twelve people are killed, more than 110 injured and 38,000 left homeless. The quakes damage several historic buildings, including the basilica of Saint Francis of Assisi.
- December 13, 1990: An earthquake hits Sicily, killing 17 and injuring 200.
On May 5 the same year, four people are killed in a quake in the southern region of Basilicate.
- The deadliest quakes ever to have hit Italy were on December 28, 1908, in Reggio di Calabria and neighbouring Sicily which killed around 95,000 and on January 13, 1915, in the town of Avezzano, in Abruzzo, killing 30,000.
On November 23, 1980, a strong earthquake in the southern Campania and Basilicate regions killed more than 2,900.
