At a glance
Updated 22 April 2009 03:00 AM BST
A powerful earthquake struck central Italy on the morning of April 6, killing 294 people and making tens of thousands homeless.
Some 65,000 people were displaced by the 6.3 magnitude quake, which hit the mountainous Abruzzo region in the early hours, catching residents in their sleep.
Many of the dead were from L'Aquila, a 13th-century mountain city of 68,000 people about 100 km (60 miles) east of Rome, and surrounding towns and villages in the Abruzzo region.
Houses, historic churches and other buildings were demolished in the worst quake to hit Italy in three decades.
Hundreds of aftershocks rattled the area, hampering rescue efforts.
Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi declared a national emergency, and pledged to seek hundreds of million of euros in EU disaster funds.
Berlusconi, already scrambling for funds to cope with an economic crisis, said his cabinet would provide 30 million euros ($40.60 million) for immediate assistance and vowed to rebuild L'Aquila in 28 months.
About half of those living in tented camps or hotel rooms would probably lose their homes due to severe structural damage, Berlusconi said.
The state plans to provide people with about one-third of the money to rebuild their homes and businesses and offer low-interest mortgages.
Some 26 cities and towns were seriously damaged by the quake, and many of the medieval villages surrounding L'Aquila were virtually flattened.
There were numerous reports of some the area's centuries-old Romanesque and Renaissance churches collapsing.
In L'Aquila, civil protection officials estimated two-thirds of buildings were ruined, including a public hospital, part of a university residence and a hotel.
Prosecutors are investigating why so many modern buildings were flattened by the quake and whether flawed construction materials were to blame for the high death toll in an area known for its seismic risk.
The government has estimated the total reconstruction cost at 12 billion euros, a fraction of the country's 1.6-trillion-euro annual economic output.
The quake was the latest and strongest in a series to hit the L'Aquila area. It was Italy's worst earthquake since November 1980, when a quake measuring 6.5 killed 2,735 people.
Earthquakes can be particularly dangerous in parts of Italy because so many buildings are centuries-old.
Timeline
Updated 22 April 2009 03:00 AM BST
April 6 (Reuters) - A powerful earthquake struck a swath of central Italy as residents slept on Monday morning, killing more than 250 people and flattening whole towns.
Following is a list of major earthquakes in Italy over the past century:
Sept 8, 1905 - Some 5,000 people are killed when a 7.9 magnitude earthquake tore through the Calabria region, obliterating 25 villages.
Dec 28, 1908 - Over 82,000 people are killed in a 7.2 magnitude earthquake which reduced Messina, Sicily's second town, to rubble. A tidal wave followed causing more devastation.
Jan 13, 1915 - Some 32,600 are killed when an earthquake measuring 7.0 struck Avezzano in central Italy.
July 27, 1930 - A quake measuring 6.5 strikes the region of Irpinia in southern Italy, killing around 1,400 people. May 6, 1976 - An earthquake measuring 6.5 rocks Friuli in Italy's northeastern corner, killing 976 people and leaving 70,000 others homeless.
Nov. 23, 1980 - Some 2,735 people are killed and more than 7,500 injured in an earthquake measuring 6.5. The epicentre was at Eboli but damage was reported over a huge area towards Naples.
Dec. 13, 1990 - Earthquake centred in the sea off Sicily kills 13 people and injures 200.
Sept. 26, 1997 - Two earthquakes measuring 6.4 kill 11 people and cause serious damage to the Basilica of St Francis in Assisi, ruining priceless Medieval frescoes. A further quake measuring 5.1 hits Umbria days later causing damage.
July 17, 2001 - Earthquake measuring 5.2 on the Richter scale shakes the northern Italian region of Alto Adige, killing one woman.
Sept. 6, 2002 - An earthquake measuring 6.0 strikes Sicily. Two people died from heart attacks triggered by the earthquake which also damaged artistic treasures.
Oct. 31, 2002 - An earthquake measuring 5.9 hits Campobasso, south-central Italy, killing 30 people, most of them children, in San Giuliano di Puglia.
April 11, 2003 - An earthquake measuring 4.6 rocks northern Italy, rattling buildings from Milan to Turin and prompting officials to evacuate some schools.
April 6, 2009 - A powerful earthquake strikes central Italy, killing at least 92 people. Civil Protection Department officials said up to 50,000 people may be homeless in some 26 cities and towns. More than 1,500 people were injured as thousands of houses, churches and buildings collapsed.
-- The quake was centred in the Abruzzo region east of Rome. The dead were mainly in L'Aquila, a 13th century city about 100 km (60 miles) east of Rome with a population of 68,000.
Sources Reuters/USGS website
