Death Toll Rises in Italy's L'Aquila Earthquake

The U.S. Geological Survey said Monday's earthquake in Italy was magnitude 6.3, but Italy's National Institute of Geophysics put it at 5.8.

An estimated 40,000 - 50,000 are homeless, and the death toll has risen to at least 70 people, with many trapped. While Civil Protection chief Guido Bertolaso said 70 had been killed in the earthquake, Italy's La Repubblica newspaper said that rescue workers were reporting 92 deaths.

Reuters has reported that an Italian seismologist, Gioacchino Giuliani, warned of an upcoming L'Aquila quake weeks ago, but was "muzzled" and reported to authorities for "spreading panic" among the population.

L'Aquila is the regional capital of the Abruzzo region, with about 70,000 inhabitants, and is a historic city, with many older, and earthquake-unsafe buildings.

The L’Aquila earthquake is the worst to hit Italy since 1980, when a 6.9-magnitude earthquake struck Eboli, south of Naples. More than 2,700 people died in that event.