Rescuers sift through the wreckage of a house after an earthquake in the Italian village of Onna April 6, 2009. A powerful earthquake struck a huge swath of central Italy as residents slept on Monday morning, killing at least 27 people when thousands of houses, churches and other buildings collapsed or were damaged.

Credits: REUTERS/Chris Helgren

Caritas is assessing needs after a powerful earthquake hit central Italy leaving at least 90 people dead and tens of thousands more homeless.

The 6.3 magnitude earthquake struck L’Aquila in Abruzzo and the surrounding area in the early hours of this morning, devastating buildings.

“One of our main concerns is for those who won’t have a roof over their heads for this coming night,” said Don Andrea La Regina responsible for social projects at Caritas Italiana.

Pope Benedict has sent a telegram to the Archbishop of L’Aquila expressing his solidarity with the victims of the disaster. In the telegram, the Pope expresses his participation in the suffering of the victims of the earthquake and asks the Lord to bring them comfort.

Caritas Italiana has made a request for funds to help its earthquake relief and recovery effort. It is coordinating activities among local Caritas in the area.

Many people are still thought to be missing as rescuers dig through the rubble of the medieval town of L’Aquila.

The earthquake was the most powerful earthquake to hit Italy in recent years. Twenty-five people were killed in the southern region of Puglia in 2002, many of them were children who died when a school collapsed. In 1980, over 2,700 people died when an earthquake struck south of Naples.

Make a donation to Caritas’s earthquake relief effort 

For more information please contact Michelle Hough on +39 06 69879721/+39 334 2344136 or hough@caritas.va