A strong earthquake rocked tonight Abruzzo, causing over 100 deaths, 1,500 wounded, dozens of thousands of refugees and the collapse of many buildings in L'Aquila and its province. The authorities have stated that the death toll is still provisional and is likely to rise, though no reliable figures can be given before they spend the time frame of 12-24 hours.
"I can confirm the death toll at over 100 while we have no figures on the missing" Reuters said this afternoon Rabottini Duilio, the press office of the Region of Abruzzo.
The quake - felt in different regions - have caused a shock of magnitude 5.8 on the Richter scale (the eighth grade on the Mercalli scale), at about 3:30 last night with an epicenter in kilometers from L'Aquila.
The head of Civil Protection Guido Bertolaso, who was appointed by decree of the special commissioner, stressed that it was a "very serious earthquake, malicious and violent" for the numerous landslides, which "will create many problems in the work of relief and management of the displaced. "
The prime minister Silvio Berlusconi - who gave up a mission in Russia today expected to travel to L'Aquila - called on residents to leave the area because "no one can say that there will be aftershocks in the coming hours or the next day."
"The phenomenon is quite extensive and serious. We will not only dead, whose number is expected to aumantare, but many people displaced. I am going to L'Aquila, I gave up my trip to Moscow because I felt that the presence of the Prime Minister to coordinate the actions can be useful. " He said Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, a telephone connection with the Tg5 Morning, talking about the strong earthquake last night in Abruzzo. Interior Minister Roberto
Maroni has stressed that it is an earthquake "of large dimensions, as perhaps they do not remember the last decades," while House Speaker Gianfranco Fini, speaking in parliament, said that "many buildings collapsed and some countries the area have been almost totally destroyed. "
L'Aquila - where it started to rain around 17:30 
and rescuers work tirelessly, digging by hand to avoid the use of mechanical equipment in the recovery of survivors under the rubble - many buildings have collapsed, including the student's home, churches and historical and artistic heritage of the city, whose old town was declared unfit for use. Many
collapse and damaged buildings were recorded in about 26 villages in the province - including Paganica, Onna, Tornimparte, Poggio Picense, Villa Sant'Angelo and Blackwater - and the IDPs are to be around 45 to 50,000.
Only in the town of Onna, 12 people died, according to reports from the President of the Province of L'Aquila. A Reuters reporter saw a mother and her child taken away in the same coffin.
All schools in the province have been closed.
"worst tragedy of the millennium"
"It 's the worst tragedy of this millennium," said Bertolaso \u200b\u200bthis morning, noting that the intensity of the quake - considered unpredictable - Is comparable if not superior to the earthquake that struck the Umbria and Marche in 1997, which caused substantial damage to property and 11 deaths.
has not yet been determined an estimate of physical damage but tonight the Council of Ministers convened for the 19 will launch "economic appropriations are necessary" to help out.
"because there are no economic problems. The government has at its disposal the necessary items of expenditure, has enabled the European Union's disaster fund," the premier said, calling for postponing the various aid initiatives at a later time , after passing the emergency for which "we have what it takes."
A note informs that the President of the Republic Giorgio Napolitano, "deeply impressed" by the news coming from the earthquake zone, is in close contact with the head of Civil Protection. Even the Pope said to be praying for the victims, while Solidarity has also been expressed by U.S. President Barack Obama and the Russian Dmitry Medvedev.
BERTOLASO: SHOCK IS NOT EXPECTED
Bertolaso \u200b\u200bsaid that the earthquake, preceded last week by several shock lighter - the so-called earthquake swarm - it was not entirely predictable. 
"Last week, the major risks Commission chaired by Professor Franco Barberi had met in L'Aquila, at my request," he explained. "He made all the important meetings with seismologists in Italy. The Commission's conclusion, most technical and scientific body of Italy, was that there was no way to predict what would happen in the days following.
Even Enzo Boschi, director of the Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology, emphasized that it is impossible to predict when a shock comes, despite the announcement last week by a researcher, Giampaolo Giuliani, who considered an imminent major earthquake in the area again and that this has been denounced for the crime alert.
"There is a long seismic sequence ongoing for several months in the region and for the foreseeable future we can expect more shocks but not the intensity of this night, "said Woods." We can know where an earthquake will occur, but when, "he said, noting that" it should rather do some 'of prevention to avoid the consequences that these events cause of this size. "
Woods said that" for that area of \u200b\u200bthe Abruzzi we had in the past earthquakes of magnitude up to a level 7 ", like that of Avezzano in 1915, considered the strongest earthquake ever recorded in the region.
As for the displaced, have been prepared five centers where they are going with the columns of the Civil Protection tents, field kitchens and other care facilities and assistance for the homeless roof.
reopened RAILWAYS
Enel has reported that the supply situation in areas affected by the earthquake is under control and that the only non-powered users are those of the buildings were severely damaged or collapsed, while the gas network in the affected areas of the municipality 's Aquila has been powered down at the request of firefighters.
The motorway A24 Roma-Aquila tomorrow will be reopened to traffic today to allow the arrival of relief and also two roads remain closed. The State Railways have instead reported that the earthquake has damaged the building which houses the system's remote control stations on the Terni Sulmona and the movement of regional lines Sulmona Sulmona-and-Tivoli Carpinone, closed by tonight for the technical assessments, was reopened after 16.
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