There were no immediate reports of casualties, but residents rushed into piazzas and streets after being roused from bed at 7:40 a.m. local time (2:40 a.m. ET).
Nuns rushed out of their church in the central town of Norcia as the clock tower appeared about to crumble.
In Rieti, hospital patients evacuated into the street and and huddled outside under blankets.
The Basilica of St. Benedict is destroyed, flattened by most recent earthquake. #Terremotopic.twitter.com/GQDl64LhFn
— The Monks of Norcia (@monksofnorcia)October 30, 2016