Italy earthquake death toll rises to 283

L'AQUILA, Italy (AP) — This quake ravaged medieval city took a limping step toward normalcy Thursday as butchers, bakers and other shopkeepers reopened for business and firefighters began entering buildings to grab essential items for the homeless.

Three days after the quake the made the historic center uninhabitable and halted nearly all economic activity, the death toll reached 283, including 20 children and teens, police said.

Premier Silvio Berlusconi said the government also had increased the sum allocated for emergency aid to euro100 million ($133 million), and that reconstruction would cost several billion euros.

On yet another day punctuated by aftershocks, a particularly sharply felt tremor rocked the quake-stricken area at 9:38 p.m. The shaking lasted a minute and was felt in Rome some 70 miles (110 kilometers) away from L'Aquila.

Italy's National Geophysics Institute said the aftershock registered 4.9 on the Richter-scale.

The strong aftershocks rattled residents — nearly 18,000 of whom are living in tent camps around the stricken region. An additional 10,000 have been put up in seaside hotels, out of the quake zone, and the Italian railway provided heated sleeping cars at L'Aquila's main train station, where nearly 700 people spent the night.

"It's not much, but without this I would be on the street," said Elena Ruggeri as she showed off the small train compartment with bunk beds she shares with three other people.

New activity was evident across the city, as pharmacies, grocery stores, butchers, and hardware stores began operating, three days after the 6.3-magnitude quake toppled entire blocks of buildings and halted nearly all economic activity.

Antonio Nardecchia opened up his family's meat stall selling roasted chickens and sausages just outside the crumbled walls of L'Aquila's historic center. The 32-year-old said business was slow.

"We opened up today to try to sell some meat before it spoils," Nardecchia said. "I don't see much of a future. It is not like everything is going to start again tomorrow."

A bakery in a one-story cement block building was a testament to survival amid semi-collapsed houses.

Inside, Evelina Cruciani, 59, made sandwiches with thick slices of freshly baked bread, ham and mozzarella cheese, and gave them to hungry aid workers or sold them to others less in need for euro3 ($4) a piece.