Italy declares state of emergency in quake affected areas

A state of emergency has been declared in regions worst hit by Wednesday’s earthquake in Italy.

This comes as rescue workers race against the clock to find survivors.

At least 250 people have died from the magnitude 6.2 quake which struck a cluster of mountain communities east of Rome.

In the small town of Amatrice, rescue workers are having a hard time executing their job of finding survivors as the area continues to be hit by aftershocks.

Residents of Arquata del Tronto, a town close to the epicenter of the quake, spent their second night in tents after losing their homes. Thousands of people in the town have been rendered homeless and could live in the tents for weeks.

Anna Maria Ciuccarelli, a Arquata resident described their night in the tents as “a tough night” explaining that “here there is quite a big temperature change. In the day it is very, very hot and at night very, very cold”.

“There is a humidity you can really feel in your bones. Here, we have been given things by the civil protection team, blankets and other things but it is very cold. Apart from this, we are still suffering aftershocks which are preceded by booms and this, for those who have just lived through an earthquake, has a big effect, particularly psychologically,” she added.

Emergency workers at the tent camps confirmed the aftershocks.

“We have felt several aftershocks, the last one was quite intense. It was about twenty minutes ago. You realise it is an aftershock because you see the electricity poles shaking, and you realise it is not your knees shaking, but an aftershock,” said Nicola Poli.

A magnitude 4.7 tremor according to the BBC was recorded early on Friday.

Meanwhile, Italy’s prime minister Matteo Renzi has pledged some 50 million euros in funds to rebuild the affected structures.