The death toll has reached up to 291. On Aug. 23, a 6.2 magnitude earthquake brought devastation to mountainous central Italy. The damages from the disaster have already reached into the billions of dollars in a country where, as of 2014, under two percent of the population has insurance to cover damages caused by earthquakes.

Italy sits on two fault lines, making it more seismically active than many other countries in Europe. Almost 30 people died due to earthquakes in northern Italy in 2012, and more than 300 in the city of L’Aquila in 2009.

Both the Prime Minister Mateo Renzi, and the President Sergio Mattarella attended the funeral of 35 of those who perished from the earthquake. The quake has destroyed many towns, but out of all of them, the city of Amatrice in the Rieti province absorbed most of the damage.

Amatrice mayor Sergio Pirozzi reported, “Half the town doesn’t exist anymore. The situation is dramatic, there are many dead. I cannot give a toll for now because rescue efforts are underway and it is very, very difficult.”

Although this disaster was devastating, shortly after the earthquake, Italy was hit with seven aftershocks. All of the aftershocks ranged from 4.4 magnitude to 5 magnitude with each of them claiming additional lives.

Immacolata Postiglione, the head of the emergency unit for the Civil Protection Department, said on August 23 that more than 1,000 people were expected to spend the night in four camps being set up in the area. She added that an unknown number of tourists had not been accounted for.

On social media, many people said that their friends and family were trapped and that the rescue teams had trouble dealing with the rough terrain. Many people were saved by these rescue teams, but for some people, they weren’t fast enough.

Offers of help came in from France, Germany, Israel and other countries, as well as from the European Commission.