Newest update:
The Latest on the earthquake in central Italy (all times local, Italy):
11:55 a.m.
Italy's civil protection agency says at least 37 people have died in the magnitude 6 quake that struck central Italy.
ROME — A devastating earthquake rocked central Italy early Wednesday, collapsing homes on top of residents as they slept. At least 23 people were reported dead in three hard-hit towns where rescue crews raced to dig survivors out of the rubble, but the toll was expected to rise as crews reached homes in more remote hamlets.
"The town isn't here anymore," said Sergio Pirozzi, the mayor of Amatrice.
The quake struck just after 3:30 a.m. local time and was felt across a broad section of central Italy, including the capital, Rome, where people in homes in the historic center felt a long swaying followed by aftershocks. First images of damage showed debris in the street and some collapsed buildings in towns and villages that dot much of the Umbrian countryside.
The European Mediterranean Seismological Center put the magnitude at 6.1. The U.S. Geological Survey put the magnitude at 6.2 with the epicenter at Norcia, about 105 miles northwest of Rome, and with a relatively shallow depth of 6 miles. The hardest-hit towns were reported as Amatrice, Accumoli and Norcia.
The mayor of Amatrice near Rieti, Sergio Pirozzi, told state-run RAI radio and Sky TG24 that residents were buried under collapsed buildings, that the lights had gone out and that heavy equipment was needed to clear streets covered with debris.
"The town isn't here anymore," he said.
In 2009, a 6.3-magnitude earthquake struck in the same region and killed more than 300 people. The earlier earthquake struck L'Aquila in central Italy, about 55 miles south of the latest quake.
Check back with Arkansas Online for updates on this developing story and read Wednesday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full details.