Massive Earthquake Rocks Abruzzo

NEW YORK--(Italy Watch)--A massive earthquake rocked L'Aquila in the Abruzzo region early this morning (03:32 Rome), registering a 6.3 on the Richter scale and significantly damaging 26 villages in the outskirts of this central Italian capital. Locals report that some villages are "90% destroyed."

The earthquake, leaving 294 dead, forced Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi to declare an immediate state of emergency and cancel his trip to Russia.

Emergency services are reporting that 27,000 are homeless and L'Aquila's main hospital is "90% out-of-order."

L'Aquila, 60 miles east of Rome, is well-known in Italy for the its National Park, il Gran Sasso d'Italia.

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