30,000 - 40,000 lose homes overnight

The earthquake struck at 0330 local time, with it's epicentre close to the medieval city of L'Aquila.  Residents rushed into the streets as a university dormitory, churches and a bell tower collapsed in the town.  Other towns and cities in the mountainous region have reported damage and casualties as well.

The Italian peninsula lies on two fault lines in the earth's crust where the Eurasian and African tectonic plates meet.  One part of the plate runs east to west south of Rome - and the other north to south alongside the Apennine mountains.  L'Aquila is located in a valley within the central Appenines.

While seismologists are able to gather data which can be used to make predictions on the possibility of an earthquake in a region - so far the ability to predict or forecast when and exactly where a quake may take place has not been possible.

At the time of this post, 179 people have been reported killed by the quake and 1,500 injured.