Thousands seek help in Italy

Some sought refuge in their cars, while others took advantage of temporary shelters provided by authorities and slept on cots. An estimated 3,000 people have been left homeless.

So far, six people have been killed and dozens injured. The dead include four nightshift workers in factories which collapsed in three different locations during the main quake Sunday morning. Another victim, a German woman, apparently succumbed to a panic attack. The final victim, a woman aged 103, was hit fatally by ceiling fragments.

The region, which lies near Italy's Po River basin, is known for producing Parmesan cheese. Dairy industry officials say warehouses storing 300,000 wheels of Parmesan and Gran Padano, a similar cheese, have collapsed. The cheeses' estimated value was more than 250 million euros ($320 million).

In addition, churches, a wall at the city hall in Sant'Agostino de Ferrara, and the roof of a recently renovated sixth-century chapel caved in. Ferrara is listed as a World Heritage site by UNESCO because of its Renaissance palaces.

Civil defense agency official Adriano Gumina said the quake was the worst to hit the region since the 1300s.

Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti cut short his visit to the NATO summit in Chicago to deal with the quake's aftermath as well as a bombing at a school on Saturday that killed one student.

In 2009, a 6.3 magnitude quake hit Italy's central city of L'Aquila, killing more than 300 people. Its historic center is still largely uninhabited and in ruins.

mz,ipj/tj (AFP, dpa, AP)