"Half the town is gone," said the mayor of Amatrice, one of the worst areas affected.
Some of the worst damage was in the town of Amatrice, where several people died and rescue efforts were under way to find survivors.
"The roads in and out of town are cut off. Half the town is gone. There are people under the rubble. There's been a landslide and a bridge might collapse," mayor Sergio Perozzi told RAI radio.