L'Aquila, Italy  - The death toll from the heavy earthquake that struck central Italy early Monday had gone beyond 150, far higher than the last previous accounts, the Ansa news agency reported.

The temblor struck the ancient town of L'Aquila and the surrounding mountainous areas about 100 kilometres north-east of Rome in the early hours of Monday.

The agency cited hospitals in the quake-struck region north-east of the capital Rome in reporting the figure, which was well up on the previous toll of at least 90 people killed.

The latest account also said that some 1,500 people had been injured and 70,000 people rendered homeless, also higher figures than reported earlier.

An estimated 50,000 people were homeless, torn from their sleep and wandering the street, according to civil defence officials.

Many more dead were feared under rubble after thousands of homes were wrecked or left dangerously cracked.

The Italian government declared a state of emergency and set up a major operation sending in troops and emergency services to an area largely cut off after access roads were left blocked.

Interior Minister Roberto Maroni told reporters that emergency services "could not have been quicker" in getting to the region. "They were on their way just a quarter of an hour after the quake struck," he said.

Local media said many more bodies were expected to be unearthed after the quake - revised reports put its Richter scale strength at 6.2 - in central Italy's Abruzzo region.

The regional capital L'Aquila and the ancient town of Castelnuovo were especially badly hit, as were the nearby towns of Paganmica and Poggio Picenze.

Four children were reported among the dead in one L'Aquila hospital. Buildings there that collapsed included a student dormitory in the historic centre, plus a four-storey building where up to 20 people were feared trapped.

The quake, preceded by two strong tremors and followed by an aftershock of 4.7 strength, occurred at 3.32 am from a depth of some five kilometres, according to civil defence authorities.

Tremors were clearly felt in Rome and as far afield as Naples. It was among the worst quakes to hit Italy in several decades.

"The house just collapsed on top of me," said one survivor, Vittorio Perfetto, who was able to put his experiences onto the internet.

Another survivor, 23-year-old Guido Mariani, described how he spent a terrifying three hours buried under rubble until rescuers were able to reach him.

There were reports of hospitals in the region overflowing with injured and cars and other vehicles kept pouring in from immediate and outlying areas ferrying people with major and minor injuries.

Shocked survivors wandered streets huddled in blankets to ward off the early morning chill, with L'Aquila reduced to a ghostly quiet. The dome of a central church caved in while the city's cathedral was also damaged.

The US Geological Survey, which tracks earthquakes worldwide, reported the strength of the quake at 6.3, saying it was centred 95 kilometres north-east of Rome at a depth of 10 kilometres.

A magnitude-4.7 aftershock was reported shortly after the quake, which was preceded by two tremors with magnitudes of 3.5 and 3.9, Italian authorities said.

It was the strongest Italian quake since 1980, when a quake in the south killed 2,570 people.

A section of the highway from L'Aquila to Rome was closed, and electrical and telephone service was cut off in many areas.

By Monday afternoon, local officials had begun trading blame as to whether enough credence had been given to a series of tremors in recent days. Others pointed out that many of the buildings in the region did not meet earthquake safety guidelines.

Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi cancelled a planned visit to Moscow as he declared the state of emergency. "Let's leave the politics to one side," he said. "We must help those who need help." (dpa)