AMATRICE, Italy - Strong earthquakes struck a mountainous stretch of central Italy early on August 24, killing at least 38 people, trapping scores under debris and setting off tremors that awakened residents in Rome, nearly 100 miles to the southwest.
The first, a 6.2-magnitude earthquake, struck at 3:36 a.m., followed by a 5.5-magnitude temblor at 4:33 a.m., both near the town in Norcia in the Umbria region. Over a three-hour period, about 40 quakes shook the region.
