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Amatrice, Italy (CNN) Desperately needing food and shelter, more than 2,000 Italians are taking refuge in makeshift camps after this week's powerful earthquake killed at least 281 people and flattened entire villages.

Camps have been set up in several affected areas, including Amatrice, the hardest-hit town, where hundreds of people were killed and buildings -- many from the 14th century -- crumbled in the aftershocks.

A photo posted by Lauren Moorhouse (@lomoorhouse) on Aug 26, 2016 at 2:14am PDT

Italy's civil protection agency told CNN that 2,100 people were living in the camps and said that more would be built to accommodate those in need.

Emergency workers and earthquake survivors get food at a field kitchen in Amatrice on Thursday.

Images from an Amatrice camp showed displaced people lining up for pasta and an elderly couple sitting on the edge of mattresses on a gym floor, having a meal as those around them hug and console one another.

'So many dead, so many children'

At a camp in Sant'Angelo, northeast of Amatrice, people gathered and shared their stories of loss.

One woman, Angelina Leone, could not hide her devastation.

"There is no hope, too many people dead. And Amatrice doesn't exist anymore. Amatrice has disappeared, and there are so many dead, so many children," she said, holding back tears.

At yet another camp, in Accumoli, Anna Maria Volpetti, 52, told CNN she had been visiting her hometown with her family when the quake hit.

"We are lucky," she said. "The earthquake was brutal. It came in waves."

AnnaMaria Volpetti, 52 was visiting Accumoli with her family. They now live in Tivoli but travel here every summer to the town where her family originally comes from. "We are lucky," she says. "The earthquake was brutal. It came in waves." A photo posted by Lauren Moorhouse (@lomoorhouse) on Aug 26, 2016 at 3:08am PDT

Giampiero Antonetti of the civil protection agency in the Abruzzo region said that teams were trying to relocate people out of the camps as the weather in the mountainous area cools.

"We will look for places for them to stay -- hotels, with relatives. Yesterday during the night it almost reached freezing, so people cannot be here for a long time."

72-hour window

The death toll is steadily creeping up. It is unclear how many people remain trapped under the mounds of concrete, brick and stone. The rescue mission entered its third day Friday -- still within the crucial 72-hour window, after which the likelihood of survival drops.

"Rescuers are very much aware they're in a race against time," said CNN correspondent Frederik Pleitgen, describing the disaster response as swift and well-organized.

But officials' hopes of finding more survivors were fading, he said.

Photos: Earthquake strikes central Italy Firefighters help residents recover personal belongings from damaged houses in the village of Rio, Italy, on Sunday, August 28. A 6.2-magnitude earthquake struck central Italy on Wednesday, killing more than 290 people. The death toll is expected to rise as rescue teams reach remote areas. Hide Caption 1 of 50 Photos: Earthquake strikes central Italy Firefighters stand by an excavator in Amatrice, Italy,on August 28, as dangerously damaged buildings and overhanging ledges are pulled down. Hide Caption 2 of 50 Photos: Earthquake strikes central Italy A rescued dog receives treatment in a veterinary care unit in Amatrice, Italy on August 28. Hide Caption 3 of 50 Photos: Earthquake strikes central Italy Volunteers on motorbikes drive through the town of Villa San Lorenzo a Flaviano, Italy, on August 28 as they bring supplies to smaller villages. Hide Caption 4 of 50 Photos: Earthquake strikes central Italy A destroyed house is seen on Saturday, August 27, in Pescara del Tronto, Italy. Hide Caption 5 of 50 Photos: Earthquake strikes central Italy Police inspect rubble and debris in Amatrice, Italy, on August 27. Hide Caption 6 of 50 Photos: Earthquake strikes central Italy A drone controlled by Italian firefighters flies over damaged houses in San Lorenzo, Italy, on August 27. Hide Caption 7 of 50 Photos: Earthquake strikes central Italy Damaged coffins and rubble are seen at the cemetery of Sant'Angelo, Italy, on August 27. Hide Caption 8 of 50 Photos: Earthquake strikes central Italy Rescuers of the Italian Red Cross carry the body of a victim in Amatrice, Italy, on Friday, August 26. Hide Caption 9 of 50 Photos: Earthquake strikes central Italy Firefighters and rescue workers stand near the damaged Sant'Agostino church and a destroyed ice cream shop in the Italian village of Amatrice on Friday, August 26. Hide Caption 10 of 50 Photos: Earthquake strikes central Italy A woman rests in the courtyard of a convent in Amatrice on August 26. Hide Caption 11 of 50 Photos: Earthquake strikes central Italy Firefighters inspect a damaged building from the elevated platform of a firetruck in Amatrice on August 26. Amatrice has been the hardest-hit town, with more than 200 killed there. Hide Caption 12 of 50 Photos: Earthquake strikes central Italy An aerial view shows the damage in the village of Saletta on August 26. Strong aftershocks in the region have rattled residents and emergency crews. Hide Caption 13 of 50 Photos: Earthquake strikes central Italy A man and woman comfort each other in front of a collapsed house in Amatrice on August 26. Hide Caption 14 of 50 Photos: Earthquake strikes central Italy Firefighters cordon off an area around the rubble from a destroyed building in Amatrice on August 26. Hide Caption 15 of 50 Photos: Earthquake strikes central Italy Emergency team members set up a tent camp for earthquake victims at a sports field in Arquata del Tronto on August 26. Hide Caption 16 of 50 Photos: Earthquake strikes central Italy Rescuers make their way through destroyed houses in Pescara del Tronto on Thursday, August 25. It's unclear how many people remain trapped under debris. Hide Caption 17 of 50 Photos: Earthquake strikes central Italy A field kitchen in Amatrice provides meals for emergency workers and earthquake survivors on August 25. Hide Caption 18 of 50 Photos: Earthquake strikes central Italy Rescue and emergency service personnel use an excavator to search for victims under the remains of a building in Amatrice on August 25. Hide Caption 19 of 50 Photos: Earthquake strikes central Italy An old building in Amatrice is partly damaged after the quake. Hide Caption 20 of 50 Photos: Earthquake strikes central Italy An emergency services helicopter takes off in Amatrice as rescuers continue the search for survivors. Hide Caption 21 of 50 Photos: Earthquake strikes central Italy A man rests on a bench after spending the night in a makeshift camp set up inside a gym in Amatrice on August 25. Hide Caption 22 of 50 Photos: Earthquake strikes central Italy A bird's eye view of Amatrice shows the devastation after the deadly quake struck on Wednesday, August 24. Hide Caption 23 of 50 Photos: Earthquake strikes central Italy Rescuers help a woman from the rubble in Amatrice on August 24. Hide Caption 24 of 50 Photos: Earthquake strikes central Italy Search-and-rescue teams survey collapsed houses in Pescara del Tronto on August 24. Hide Caption 25 of 50 Photos: Earthquake strikes central Italy A man cries as another injured man is helped in Amatrice. Hide Caption 26 of 50 Photos: Earthquake strikes central Italy This woman in Amatrice was wounded during the earthquake. Hide Caption 27 of 50 Photos: Earthquake strikes central Italy Rescuers carry a man through earthquake debris in Amatrice. Hide Caption 28 of 50 Photos: Earthquake strikes central Italy Rocco Girardi receives treatment after being rescued from the rubble in Arquata del Tronto on August 24. Hide Caption 29 of 50 Photos: Earthquake strikes central Italy The body of a unidentified child lies on a bench in Arquata del Tronto on August 24. Hide Caption 30 of 50 Photos: Earthquake strikes central Italy The quake left this house in ruins in Arquata del Tronto. Hide Caption 31 of 50 Photos: Earthquake strikes central Italy Two people hug each other next to damaged houses in Pescara del Tronto. Hide Caption 32 of 50 Photos: Earthquake strikes central Italy Two women pass along a stuffed toy in Amatrice on August 24. Hide Caption 33 of 50 Photos: Earthquake strikes central Italy Residents take in the damage in Amatrice. Hide Caption 34 of 50 Photos: Earthquake strikes central Italy This aerial photo shows damaged buildings in Amatrice. The quake struck at 3:36 a.m and was felt across a broad swath of central Italy. Hide Caption 35 of 50 Photos: Earthquake strikes central Italy An emergency hospital camp is set up to treat earthquake victims in Arquata del Tronto. Hide Caption 36 of 50 Photos: Earthquake strikes central Italy A woman tries to comfort her child in Amatrice on August 24. Hide Caption 37 of 50 Photos: Earthquake strikes central Italy Residents survey a collapsed staircase in Amatrice on August 24. Hide Caption 38 of 50 Photos: Earthquake strikes central Italy Residents of Pescara del Tronto care for an elderly earthquake victim on August 24. Hide Caption 39 of 50 Photos: Earthquake strikes central Italy Search-and-rescue teams look for survivors in Pescara del Tronto. Hide Caption 40 of 50 Photos: Earthquake strikes central Italy Survivors sit among the rubble of a house in Amatrice on August 24. Hide Caption 41 of 50 Photos: Earthquake strikes central Italy Residents search for victims in Amatrice. Hide Caption 42 of 50 Photos: Earthquake strikes central Italy An injured man is rescued from a collapsed building in Amatrice on August 24. Hide Caption 43 of 50 Photos: Earthquake strikes central Italy A man leans on a wall in Pescara del Tronto. Hide Caption 44 of 50 Photos: Earthquake strikes central Italy A dog searches for people trapped in collapsed buildings in Amatrice. Hide Caption 45 of 50 Photos: Earthquake strikes central Italy Rescuers search for victims in Amatrice on August 24. Hide Caption 46 of 50 Photos: Earthquake strikes central Italy A man is pulled alive from the rubble. Hide Caption 47 of 50 Photos: Earthquake strikes central Italy A man surveys damage near a dust-covered car in Amatrice on August 24. Hide Caption 48 of 50 Photos: Earthquake strikes central Italy Two people huddle together in Amatrice after the earthquake. Hide Caption 49 of 50 Photos: Earthquake strikes central Italy A rescue worker drives a truck of rubble as cleanup operations begin in Amatrice. Hide Caption 50 of 50

Aftershocks continue to rattle the region, making the tough rescue mission even more trying.

Italian police on Twitter said the first funeral had held for a man named Marco Santarelli, the son of a police official. Other victims will be buried in a state funeral Saturday, with Prime Minister Matteo Renzi attending, the Italian government said.

#Terremoto oggi primi funerali

vittime. A Roma l'ultimo saluto a Marco Santarelli figlio del Questore di Frosinone pic.twitter.com/Uir2rfgHDK — Polizia di Stato (@poliziadistato) 26 August 2016

Among the dead were three British nationals.

Britain's Foreign Office said in a statement: "We are providing support to the families of Marcos Burnett and Will and Maria Henniker-Gotley following their tragic deaths in the earthquake in Italy. Our thoughts are with them at this incredibly difficult time.

"British Embassy staff will continue working with local authorities regarding any further British nationals that may require our assistance."

A reason for hope

A firefighter who said he pulled a young girl from the rubble said rescuers "exploded with joy" after finding her alive.

Angelo Moroni described to Italian ANSA news agency the moment he and other firefighters rescued a girl that he said was named Giorgia after digging through mountains of debris with their bare hands for hours.

"At times like that you don't think, you go on for hours without feeling thirst or tiredness. We were sure she was safe only when we put her on a stretcher and doctors carried her away. Then we exploded with joy for this great result," he said.

"The joy was huge."

The central Italian town of Pescara del Tronto lies in ruins after Wednesday's deadly quake.

The ANSA report said the girl's her older sister, who was next to her, was killed but that the girls' parents were pulled out alive.

"I hope Giorgia remembers little of this place, rather I hope she forgets everything," Moroni told ANSA.

National police confirmed Friday that Giorgia was not the girl in a widely shared video also being pulled from rubble Wednesday in Amatrice.

That girl's name was Giulia, 10, police said, without giving the last names of either girl.

JUST WATCHED A girl is pulled from earthquake rubble. Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH A girl is pulled from earthquake rubble. 01:17

The rescues are among the few stories of hope since the 6.2-magnitude quake struck Wednesday.

'The earthquake was brutal'

The Italian Council of Ministers approved a state of emergency Thursday for the regions affected by the earthquake, allocating 50 million euros (about $56.5 million) in funding, while the displaced took refuge in the camps.

People prepare to spend the night Thursday in a makeshift camp set up in a gym in Amatrice.

Residents gathered at a square in Amatrice, some of the women crying and hugging to console each other, with dust still lingering in the air. Men stood in silence, too upset to speak to reporters.

A woman holds a dog as she and a man hurry past rubble in Amatrice.

One man from Rome, who traveled to Amatrice to check on relatives after the quake, gave a harrowing account of how he and his aunt saw two hands sticking out of the rubble.

"This is something I will remember forever," Francesco Miglio said, adding that his aunt identified the woman as her neighbor.

"And the thing that I will remember for the rest of my life was she had nice hands. I didn't know the lady, but she had nice hands with nail polish on," he said.

JUST WATCHED Italian man rushed to save loved ones in quake zone Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Italian man rushed to save loved ones in quake zone 05:06

He and his aunt called out to the woman to move a finger if she could hear them.

"She was gone," he said.

Destruction of heritage

Central Italy is home to many historic buildings, which are the backbone of the region's tourism industry.

Earthquakes here not only bring a tragic loss of life but also leave cultural structures damaged or completely destroyed.

CNN affiliate RAI reported damage to 293 pieces of cultural heritage, including 50 that were destroyed.

An old building in Amatrice is partly damaged after the quake.

A Roman Catholic cathedral in Urbino sustained small cracks in its internal structure.

The Monastery of St. Chiara in Camerino, the Basilica of St. Francesco and the church of Sant'Agostino in Amatrice have partially collapsed.

Historic buildings and city walls in Nursia and a cathedral in San Giuliano also were damaged.

Italy is no stranger to deadly quakes.

In May 2012, a pair of temblors killed dozens of people in northern Italy, while in April 2009, a magnitude-6.3 earthquake hit in the central L'Aquila region, leaving more than 300 people dead. Wednesday's quake struck an area close to the scene of the 2009 disaster.</s>A 4.7-magnitude aftershock has hit the Italian town of Amatrice as rescuers and emergency teams continue their search of three flattened hilltop towns and Italy declares a state of emergency in the region.

With the provisional death toll from Wednesday’s 6.2-magnitude quake standing at 267, including several foreigners, the Italian prime minister, Matteo Renzi, authorised a preliminary €50m (£43m) in emergency funding for the stricken zone.

The powerful aftershock, the latest of more than 500 since the initial quake, hit the area shortly after dawn on Friday, sending up plumes of thick grey dust, shaking buildings that were still standing and fuelling fears of fresh collapses which could hamper the rescue operation.

In a first raft of emergency relief measures, Renzi cancelled residents’ taxes in and around the hardest-hit towns of Amatrice, Accumoli, Arquata del Tronto and Pescara del Tronto, between 60 and 90 miles (95-145km) north-east of Rome.

Most of the confirmed deaths were in Amatrice, where 193 people had died, includingthree Britons: Marcos Burnett, 14, who was on holiday with his parents and sister, and 55-year-old Will Henniker-Gotley and his wife Maria, 51, from south London. Marco’s parents are being treated for minor injuries in hospital.

The UK foreign secretary, Boris Johnson, said on Thursday that extra staff had been sent to the region. Six Romanians, a Canadian, a Spaniard and a Salvadoran were also killed.

The 2,500-strong population of the medieval hilltop town, voted one of Italy’s most beautiful historic towns last year, was swollen with summer visitors, many from Rome, in anticipation of its popular annual food festival this weekend.

But while 215 people had been pulled alive from the rubble since Wednesday and more than 360 were being treated in hospital, questions were mounting as to why there had been so many deaths in an area known for decades to be the most seismically hazardous in Europe.

After a 2009 earthquake in nearby L’Aquila left 300 people dead, authorities released €1bn to upgrade buildings in the region, but takeup has been low. Despite eight devastating earthquakes in 40 years, experts estimate 70% of Italy’s buildings do not meet seismic standards.

“Here, in the middle of a seismic zone, nothing has ever been done,” Dario Nanni, of Italy’s architects’ council, told Agence France-Presse. “It does not cost that much more when renovating a building to make it comply with earthquake standards. But less than 20% of buildings do.”

The culture minister said 293 historical buildings had been damaged or destroyed by the quake and public prosecutors announced an investigation into whether anyone could be held responsible.

Meanwhile, Renzi announced plans to help the country prepare better and address poor building standards, saying Italy should “have a plan that is not just limited to the management of emergency situations”. 



But the prime minister said suggestions that the country could easily construct quake-proof buildings were “absurd”. It was difficult to imagine, he said after a cabinet meeting, that the level of destruction from Wednesday’s quake “could have been avoided simply by using different building technology. We’re talking about medieval-era towns.”

In Amatrice and the surrounding small towns and villages hopes of finding more survivors were fading; no one had been recovered alive since Wednesday night. The focus was now on helping the more than 1,200 people left homeless.

About 5,400 emergency workers, firefighters, soldiers and volunteers, helped by 50 sniffer dogs, continued to sift through piles of cement, rock and twisted metal, many pointing out that the last survivor from the L’Aquila quake was found 72 hours after it struck.

“We will work relentlessly until the last person is found, and make sure no one is trapped,” said one rescue team spokesman, Lorenzo Botti.

Some survivors, having slept in their cars or in tent cities set up outside the towns, were allowed to pick up essential items from their homes on Thursday accompanied by rescue workers.

“Last night we slept in the car. Tonight, I don’t know,” said Nello Caffini, carrying his sister-in-law’s belongings on his head through Pescara del Tronto, which was almost completely destroyed.

Italy’s older buildings are not obliged to conform to anti-seismic building codes, and experts estimate it could cost more than €90bn to reinforce all the country’s historic buildings. Targeted improvement work, though, could be effective.

Compounding the problem is the fact that many more modern buildings do not comply with regulations when they are built, and often prove deadlier than older constructions when an earthquake strikes.

News reports in Amatrice said investigators were looking in particular into the town’s Romolo Capranica school, which was restored in 2012 using funds provided after the L’Aquila quake. It all but collapsed on Wednesday, while the town’s 13th-century clock tower remained standing.

“We are able to prevent all these deaths,” Armando Zambrano, of the national council of engineers, told the Associated Press. “The problem is actually doing it. These tragedies keep happening because we don’t intervene. After each tragedy we say we will act but then the weeks go by and nothing happens.”</s>Sniffer dogs and emergency crews continued to scour piles of rubble in Amatrice, a picturesque town popular with tourists which was leveled by Wednesday's quake and where 207 bodies have been retrieved so far.

But in nearby villages, such as Pescara del Tronto, rescuers pulled out after all the missing had been accounted for.

Italy plans to hold a state funeral for around 40 of the victims on Saturday, which will be held in the nearby city of Ascoli Piceno.

A day of national mourning was announced, with flags due to fly at half mast around the country for the dead, who include a number of foreigners.

The civil protection department in Rome said nearly 400 people were being treated for injuries in hospitals, 40 of them in critical condition. An estimated 2,500 people were left homeless by the most deadly quake in Italy since 2009.

Survivors with nowhere else to go are sleeping in neat rows of blue tents set up by emergency services close to their flattened communities.

"It was quite a tough night because you have a significant change in temperature here. During the day, it is very, very hot and at night it is very, very cold," said Anna Maria Ciuccarelli of Arquata del Tronto.

"There are still aftershocks preceded by booms and, for those of us who have just lived through an earthquake, it has a great effect, particularly psychologically," she said.

More than 920 aftershocks have hit the area since the original 6.2 magnitude quake struck early Wednesday.

"We have removed the last bodies that we knew about," said Paolo Cortelli, a member of the Alpine Rescue national service who helped to recover about 30 bodies from Pescara del Tronto.

"We don't know, and we might never know, if the number of missing that we knew about actually corresponds to the people who were actually under the rubble."

The foreigners who died in the disaster included six Romanians, a Spanish woman, a Canadian and an Albanian. The British embassy in Rome declined to comment on reports that three Britons, including a 14-year-old boy had died.

The area is popular with holidaymakers and local authorities were struggling to pin down how many visitors were present when the quake hit. The Romanian Foreign Ministry said 17 Romanians were still missing.

Italy has a large Romanian community, and some of the victims were resident in the country.

The first funeral of a victim was held in Rome on Friday, for Marco Santarelli, the 28-year-old son of a senior state official, who died in the family's holiday home in Amatrice.

"I cannot find the words to describe the grief of a father who outlives his own children. Perhaps there are no words," Marco's father, Filippo Santarelli, told Corriere della Sera newspaper.

Hardly a single building was left unscathed in Amatrice, which was last year voted one of the most beautiful old towns in Italy and is famous for its local cuisine.

"Amatrice will have to be razed to the ground," said mayor Sergio Pirozzi.

Prime Minister Matteo Renzi has declared a state of emergency for the region, allowing the government to release an immediate 50 million euros ($56 million) for the relief work.

He has promised to rebuild the shattered homes and said he would also renew efforts to bolster Italy's flimsy defenses against earthquakes that regularly batter the country.

"We want those communities to have the chance of a future and not just memories," he told reporters in Rome on Thursday.

Italy has a poor record of rebuilding after quakes. About 8,300 people who were forced to leave their homes after a deadly earthquake in L'Aquila in 2009 are still living in temporary accommodation.

Renzi declined to predict when the homeless might be rehoused. "This is not about setting challenges and making promises. We need the pace of a marathon runner," he said.

Most of the buildings in the area were built hundreds of years ago, long before any anti-seismic building norms were introduced, helping to explain the widespread destruction.

Cultural Minister Dario Franceschini said all 293 culturally important sites, many of them churches, had either collapsed or been seriously damaged.

Italy sits on two fault lines, making it one of the most seismically active countries in Europe. Almost 30 people died in earthquakes in northern Italy in 2012 while more than 300 died in the L'Aquila disaster.</s>Hopes of finding more survivors from Italy's powerful earthquake faded on Friday, with the death toll rising to 278 and the rescue operation in some of the stricken areas called off.

Three days after the quake struck the mountainous heart of the country, sniffer dogs and emergency crews continued to scour the town of Amatrice, which was levelled in the disaster, but there was no sign of life beneath the debris.

"Only a miracle can bring our friends back alive from the rubble, but we are still digging because many are missing," town mayor Sergio Pirozzi told reporters, saying, around 15 people, including some children, had not been accounted for.

In nearby villages, such as Pescara del Tronto, rescuers pulled out after all the inhabitants had been accounted for.

 

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 Italy plans to hold a state funeral for around 40 of the victims on Saturday, which will be held in the nearby city of Ascoli Piceno. A day of national mourning was announced, with flags due to fly at half mast around the country for the dead, who include a number of foreigners.

The civil protection department in Rome said 388 people were being treated for injuries in hospitals, and 40 of them were in critical condition. An estimated 2,500 people were left homeless by the most deadly quake in Italy since 2009.

Survivors with nowhere else to go are sleeping in neat rows of blue tents set up close to their flattened communities. The government has promised to rebuild the region, but some local people feared that would never happen.

"I'm afraid our village and others like it will just die. Most people don't live here year round anyway. In the winter time the towns are virtually empty," said Salvatore Petrucci, 77, who came from the nearby hamlet of Trisunga.

"We may be the last ones to have lived in Trisunga."

More than 1,050 aftershocks have hit the area since the 6.2 magnitude quake early on Wednesday, bringing fresh damage to structures still standing. These included a bridge leading to Amatrice, which had to be closed on Friday, further complicating the rescue operation.

The original quake was so strong that the town nearest the epicentre, Accumoli, sank by 20cm, according to Italy's geological institute.

By Friday, most of the outlying communities were quiet and empty, buildings lying in crumpled mounds, the innards of private homes exposed to the skies and belongings scattered in the debris.

"We have removed the last bodies that we knew about," said Paolo Cortelli, a member of the Alpine Rescue national service who helped to recover about 30 bodies from Pescara del Tronto.

"We don't know, and we might never know, if the number of missing that we knew about actually corresponds to the people who were actually under the rubble."

The foreigners who died in the disaster included six Romanians, a Spanish woman, a Canadian and an Albanian. Three British holidaymakers, including a 14-year-old boy, also died.

The area is popular with vacationers and local authorities were struggling to pin down how many visitors were present when the quake hit.

The Romanian Foreign Ministry said 17 Romanians were still missing. Italy has a large Romanian community, and some of the victims were residents in the country.

The first funeral of a victim was held in Rome on Friday, for Marco Santarelli, the 28-year-old son of a senior state official, who died in the family's holiday home in Amatrice.

"I cannot find the words to describe the grief of a father who outlives his own children. Perhaps there are no words," Marco's father, Filippo Santarelli, told Corriere della Sera newspaper.

Later in the day, a funeral service for six other victims, including an 8-year-old boy and two girls aged 14 and 15, was held in their hometown of Pomezia, south of Rome.

Officials said 181 of the victims had been identified, including at least 21 children. The youngest was just 5-1/2 months old. The eldest was 93.

Hardly a single building was left unscathed in Amatrice, which was last year voted one of the most beautiful old towns in Italy and is famous for its local cuisine.

"Amatrice will have to be razed to the ground," said mayor Pirozzi, who urged youngsters not to leave the area, saying that would mean the end of their community.

"No night can last so long that the sun never rises again. I am convinced that Amatrice will rise again. We owe it to the (218) people who died here."

Prime Minister Matteo Renzi has declared a state of emergency for the region, allowing the government to release an immediate 50 million euros (NZ$77.4 million) for the relief work.

He has promised to rebuild the shattered homes and said he would also renew efforts to bolster Italy's flimsy defences against earthquakes that regularly batter the country.

"We want those communities to have the chance of a future and not just memories," he told reporters in Rome on Thursday.

Italy has a poor record of rebuilding after quakes. About 8,300 people who were forced to leave their homes after a deadly earthquake in L'Aquila in 2009 are still living in temporary accommodation.

This latest disaster represents a major political challenge for Renzi, who has been in office for two years. Former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi was widely criticised for what was perceived to be a botched response to the L'Aquila calamity.

Renzi called for national unity and declined to predict when the homeless might be rehoused. "This is not about setting challenges and making promises. We need the pace of a marathon runner," he said.

Insurance association ANIA estimates that less than one percent of Italy's 33 million homes have private quake coverage, meaning the bill for insurance companies was likely to be low.

That means that the reconstruction bill will have to be paid by the heavily indebted state. Infrastructure Minister Graziano Delrio said on Friday he did not think rebuilding costs would reach the 14 billion euros earmarked for L'Aquila.

Most of the buildings in the Amatrice area were built hundreds of years ago, long before any anti-seismic building norms were introduced, helping to explain the widespread destruction.

Cultural Minister Dario Franceschini said all 293 culturally important sites, many of them churches, had either collapsed or been seriously damaged.

Italy sits on two fault lines, making it one of the most seismically active countries in Europe. Almost 30 people died in earthquakes in northern Italy in 2012 while more than 300 died in the L'Aquila disaster.</s>PESCARA DEL TRONTO, Italy, Aug 26 (Reuters) - Hopes of finding more survivors faded on Friday three days after a powerful earthquake hit central Italy, with the death toll rising to 267 and the rescue operation in some of the stricken areas called off.

Sniffer dogs and emergency crews continued to scour piles of rubble in Amatrice, a picturesque town popular with tourists which was levelled by Wednesday's quake and where 207 bodies have been retrieved so far.

Mayor Sergio Pirozzi said around 15 people, including some children and the local baker, had not been accounted for. "Only a miracle can bring our friends back alive from the rubble, but we are still digging because many are missing," he told reporters.

In nearby villages, such as Pescara del Tronto, rescuers pulled out after all the missing had been accounted for.

Italy plans to hold a state funeral for around 40 of the victims on Saturday, which will be held in the nearby city of Ascoli Piceno.

A day of national mourning was announced, with flags due to fly at half mast around the country for the dead, who include a number of foreigners.

The civil protection department in Rome said nearly 400 people were being treated for injuries in hospitals, and 40 of them were in critical condition. An estimated 2,500 people were left homeless by the most deadly quake in Italy since 2009.

Survivors with nowhere else to go are sleeping in neat rows of blue tents set up by emergency services close to their flattened communities. The government has promised to rebuild the region, but some local people feared that would never happen.

"I'm afraid our village and others like it will just die. Most people don't live here year round anyway. In the winter time the towns are virtually empty," said Salvatore Petrucci, 77, who lived in the nearby small village of Trisunga.

"We may be the last ones to have lived in Trisunga," he said.

More than 920 aftershocks have hit the area since the original 6.2 magnitude quake struck early Wednesday. By Friday, most of the outlying communities were quiet and empty, buildings lying in crumpled mounds, the innards of private homes exposed to the skies and belongings scattered in the debris.

"We have removed the last bodies that we knew about," said Paolo Cortelli, a member of the Alpine Rescue national service who helped to recover about 30 bodies from Pescara del Tronto.

"We don't know, and we might never know, if the number of missing that we knew about actually corresponds to the people who were actually under the rubble."

The foreigners who died in the disaster included six Romanians, a Spanish woman, a Canadian and an Albanian. The British embassy in Rome declined to comment on reports that three Britons, including a 14-year-old boy had died.

The area is popular with holidaymakers and local authorities were struggling to pin down how many visitors were present when the quake hit.

The Romanian Foreign Ministry said 17 Romanians were still missing. Italy has a large Romanian community, and some of the victims were resident in the country.

The first funeral of a victim was held in Rome on Friday, for Marco Santarelli, the 28-year-old son of a senior state official, who died in the family's holiday home in Amatrice.

"I cannot find the words to describe the grief of a father who outlives his own children. Perhaps there are no words," Marco's father, Filippo Santarelli, told Corriere della Sera newspaper.

Hardly a single building was left unscathed in Amatrice, which was last year voted one of the most beautiful old towns in Italy and is famous for its local cuisine.

"Amatrice will have to be razed to the ground," said mayor Pirozzi, who urged youngsters not to leave the area, saying that would mean the end of their community. "No night can last so long that the sun never rises again. I am convinced that Amatrice will rise again. We owe it to the 207 people who died here."

Prime Minister Matteo Renzi has declared a state of emergency for the region, allowing the government to release an immediate 50 million euros ($56 million) for the relief work.

He has promised to rebuild the shattered homes and said he would also renew efforts to bolster Italy's flimsy defences against earthquakes that regularly batter the country.

"We want those communities to have the chance of a future and not just memories," he told reporters in Rome on Thursday.

Italy has a poor record of rebuilding after quakes. About 8,300 people who were forced to leave their homes after a deadly earthquake in L'Aquila in 2009 are still living in temporary accommodation.

This latest disaster represents a major political challenge for Renzi, who has been in office for two years. Former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi was widely criticised for what was perceived to be a botched response to the L'Aquila calamity.

Renzi declined to predict when the homeless might be rehoused. "This is not about setting challenges and making promises. We need the pace of a marathon runner," he said.

Most of the buildings in the area were built hundreds of years ago, long before any anti-seismic building norms were introduced, helping to explain the widespread destruction.

Cultural Minister Dario Franceschini said all 293 culturally important sites, many of them churches, had either collapsed or been seriously damaged.

Italy sits on two fault lines, making it one of the most seismically active countries in Europe. Almost 30 people died in earthquakes in northern Italy in 2012 while more than 300 died in the L'Aquila disaster. ($1 = 0.8857 euros) (Writing by Crispian Balmer and Philip Pullella, editing by David Stamp)</s>(CNN) The scale of damage from Wednesday's earthquake that shook central Italy is becoming clearer as rescue workers continue to dig through rubble to find survivors. One mayor said his town is " no more ." "There is nothing left here," another resident said . Here's a look at the devastation by the numbers:

250: Latest death toll, which is expected to rise

It's hard to quantify exactly how many people are still missing or hurt, as many remote towns attract seasonal visitors.

The towns are Amatrice, Arquata del Tronto and Accumoli.

That's the count for staffers with Italy's Civil Protection Agency. Other outside groups are helping too.

17: Estimated number of hours a girl was trapped under rubble before she was rescued

12: Number of major earthquakes in Italy since 2000

The country's Apennine mountain range sits along a tectonic plate that has been a hotbed for tremors. Most recently in 2009, a 6.3 earthquake struck central Italy and killed 295 people.
A state of emergency is declared in Italy following several strong earthquakes.