Earthquake In Italy 'Hits Home' In Boston's North End

BOSTON (CBS) - In Boston's North End neighborhood, locals were glued to an Italian news station seeing the devastation of a magnitude 6 earthquake.

On social media Stefano Marchese was trying to keep his family informed about what was happening around them near the quake-stricken area in central Italy.

"Thank God they're good. Some of them might be sleeping in the car for a few nights," said Marchese.

Angela Leo reached her brother in Rome, some 85 miles away but still felt the tremor. "I asked him if everything was OK and thankfully he said 'yes'."

So did the Bryant University basketball team touring and playing in the country on a once in a lifetime trip for the Rhode Island students. But they experienced something they never felt before in their hotel.

"I go to my closet and the hangers are clacking against each other like a haunted house," said coach Tim O'Shea. "Then I heard a rumbling above like somebody was on a treadmill. It was a really bizarre sound."

At the epicenter, the small tourist town of Amatrice was destroyed with rescue crews using bulldozers and bare hands in a race to find survivors. Back in the tight knit North End neighborhood, the effort to reach loved ones continued.

"It hits home especially in an Italian neighborhood like this," said Mivan Cattaneo, working at Caffe dello Sport. "I know some people were able to get in touch with people and some haven't heard back yet."

Fr. Antonio Nardoianni, who dedicated his noontime mass at Sacred Heart Church to the earthquake victims, fears the worst is still to come.

"What we have heard is not the end yet. There might be many more casualties. Seeing that kind of destruction is very painful," he says.