Survivors of Italian quake take stock of loved ones and property lost

Survivors in the small hilltop towns and villagesin central Italy devastated byWednesday'searthquakearebeginning to take stock of the loss.

The death toll stood at250 Thursdayas emergency workers continued to usesniffer dogs, shovels,ropes and heavy equipment to try to find and extricate survivors.

Many of the dead were children, who were in the region for the summer break to enjoy the fresh air and spectacular views ofItaly's forested Apennine mountain range.

In one fate-defying exercise, rescuers were able to pull a 10-year-old girl from a mountain of stones and debris inPescaradelTronto, one of the towns hardest hit by the magnitude 6.2 quake. Video from Italian broadcaster Sky 24, capturedonlookers bursting into joyous screams of"She's alive!" afterrescuers pulled her from the rubble.

But others were less fortunate.

Two neighbours from the town ofAccumoli, now largely reduced to rubble, exchanged news of relatives lost in the quakeon their way back into town to collect any useful belongings that withstood the earthquake.

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As they headed up to the hilltop town,OrnellaCampagnoni, in her 70s, bursts into tears as she toldherfriendRobertaPaoloni, 53, that her brother and his grandson were killed in the quake when it pulled to the ground most of the buildings in town.

"He was just seven, though he seemed like he was 12 because he was so tall," she said between sobs."Next year,he was going into his second year of elementary school.He's a twin, and now, I'm trying to find his brother,Simone,who is somewhere in a hospital. He was badly injured. They say they took him to Rome, but we can't find him."

"What aboutCatarinaand Sabrina?" askedPaoloni.

"They're dead, too!"Campagnoni said.

"Even Sabrina?She was mynext-doorneighbour!"Paoloni said.

"Even Sabrina!"Campagnonireplied.

People vie for space in temporary tent camps

Hundreds of variations on these heartbreaking conversations areplaying out in the stricken area as survivors begin to register with authorities for a spot in one of the roadside fields cleared to erect temporary tent camps for the newly homeless.

In the valley belowAccumoli, four such areas have already been set up, providing shelter for around 300 people, saidJuriPittaluga, spokesperson for Italy's Civil Protection Agency.

Firefighters inAccumoli, in the meantime, were helpingthose wanting to be accompanied into collapsed homes to retrieve valuables.

RaulDurante, 60, carried a small, empty suitcase with him to the apartment of his parents, both in their 90s, who survived the quake.

As he stepped through the broken bottles, smashed pottery and hunks of cement that had fallenfrom the walls and ceiling, he saidhe doubtedhis parents would ever live in thehouse again.

"This is a family home, where my grandparents lived and where I've been coming since I was a boy," he said, pausing to hold up dusty a photo of the family as he siftedthrough drawers, taking out items of clothing for his mother.

"My parents are both in deep shock, so they'll stay with me in Rome. But they'll want to come back to this area, so I'll have to find them another place to live at some point."

Indeed, few survivors of the quake hold out much hope that they will be returning to live in their communities any time soon or ever.

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The successful rebuilding of earthquake-devastated towns in Italy is the exception, not the rule. And if the 2009 earthquake in L'Aquila still a ghost town seven years after more than 300 people were killed there gives any hint of the future forthese stricken villages and towns,Durantewon't be the only one looking for alterative accommodation.