Amatrice, Italy (CNN) The summer sun beats brightly down on the streets of the picturesque Italian mountain town, but the people who walk them are not on holiday. Amatrice has become a mausoleum.

The town -- home to the beloved Spaghetti all'Amatriciana -- should have been full of pasta-loving foodies this weekend for the annual festival. But instead, locals sway through the streets -- disorientated, confused and disheveled.

At least 290 people have died across the region -- authorities say at least 230 were killed in this rural town -- after a 6.2-magnitude earthquake struck in the early hours of Wednesday morning. Many more remain unaccounted for.

A neat fracture line in the pavement is a telling sign of the earth's violent movement below the streets of Amatrice.

A neat fracture line in the pavement is a telling sign of the earth's violent movement below the streets of Amatrice.

A poster for the 50th anniversary of Amatrice's famous pasta festival, set to take place the weekend following the earthquake, remains on the perimeter of a park now occupied by emergency response volunteers.

A poster for the 50th anniversary of Amatrice's famous pasta festival, set to take place the weekend following the earthquake, remains on the perimeter of a park now occupied by emergency response volunteers.

Cars caked in a layer of thick debris dust are parked in central Amatrice.

Cars caked in a layer of thick debris dust are parked in central Amatrice.

Emergency personnel survey a cordoned-off area in the center of Amatrice. Much of the town is now inaccessible to everyone but authorities.

Emergency personnel survey a cordoned-off area in the center of Amatrice. Much of the town is now inaccessible to everyone but authorities.

The gated doorframe of a home is the only part of it that remains standing.

The gated doorframe of a home is the only part of it that remains standing.

AnnaMaria Volpetti, 52, stands at the entrance of the tent where she and her family have sought refuge after their ancestral holiday home was ruined in Accumoli.

AnnaMaria Volpetti, 52, stands at the entrance of the tent where she and her family have sought refuge after their ancestral holiday home was ruined in Accumoli.

A view of the tent camp set up by the Civil Protection Agency in the Abruzzo region as temporary housing for displaced residents from the mountain commune of Accumoli.

A view of the tent camp set up by the Civil Protection Agency in the Abruzzo region as temporary housing for displaced residents from the mountain commune of Accumoli.

Rescuers congregate in the shade near a temporary camp under construction for residents displaced by the earthquake in Amatrice.

Rescuers congregate in the shade near a temporary camp under construction for residents displaced by the earthquake in Amatrice.

An camp for emergency volunteers is erected in a park in Amatrice.

An camp for emergency volunteers is erected in a park in Amatrice.

Three days on, various emergency response groups congregate in an open area in Amatrice. Rescuers were initially hindered by the lack of access to the mountain town.

Three days on, various emergency response groups congregate in an open area in Amatrice. Rescuers were initially hindered by the lack of access to the mountain town.

A K-9 rescue crew regroups outside of the red zone in Amatrice.

A K-9 rescue crew regroups outside of the red zone in Amatrice.

The destroyed convent of Amatrice is visible from the Italian Red Cross field headquarters in Amatrice.

The destroyed convent of Amatrice is visible from the Italian Red Cross field headquarters in Amatrice.

The destroyed interior of a home is seen in Amatrice.

The destroyed interior of a home is seen in Amatrice.

Emergency crews huddle near the iconic Amatrice clock tower still standing amid the rubble. The frozen hands of the clock rest at the time of the earthquake: 3:36 a.m. local time.

Emergency crews huddle near the iconic Amatrice clock tower still standing amid the rubble. The frozen hands of the clock rest at the time of the earthquake: 3:36 a.m. local time.

An emergency responder passes by the rubble of the building in Amatrice where Roberto Partenza and his family lived before the earthquake struck in the pre-dawn hours of Wednesday, August 24.

An emergency responder passes by the rubble of the building in Amatrice where Roberto Partenza and his family lived before the earthquake struck in the pre-dawn hours of Wednesday, August 24.

Builder Roberto Partenza's home was pancaked by the disaster. He described waking up to "a huge sound."

"Everywhere was shaking," he said. "I hugged my wife because I thought that was going to be the last moment of my life."

They scrambled out from beneath the debris, scooped up their children, along with a few items of clothing, and escaped to safety.

Others were not as lucky.

It's been a race against time for emergency responders. The town's isolated location meant that the first people to dig survivors from the rubble, were those like Partenza. He and many others began excavating with whatever tools were available.

"I hugged my wife because I thought that was going to be the last moment of my life." Roberto Partenza

"At the beginning we started digging with our hands," he said. "We could hear sounds of people asking for help."

"After a while the first rescue teams started to arrive from the area."

There is now only one route into the once-charming town -- a winding circuitous road busy with emergency vehicles hurtling around the small cliff-facing lanes.

Many roads are cordoned off and bridges are perilously unstable, with rock falls making travel more difficult.

At the church in Amatrice, Franciscan monks sit huddled together in the hot summer sun too exhausted to maintain a façade of calm and strength.

Arturo Filippi pets rescue dog Sam Sam at a volunteer camp in Amatrice. Fillipi, who lives in Venice, is a logistics coordinator with 16 years experience in disaster response, including this earthquake and two others.

Around 6,600 rescuers are at work in the region, according to authorities, but they know time is against them. With each passing hour, the likelihood of finding survivors diminishes.

"This city will become a museum city, for people to see that an earthquake happened here," said Arturo Filippi, an emergency response volunteer with 16 years experience.

Marisa Di Tommaso and husband Michelo Giuseppe pose together near the makeshift headquarters of the Italian Red Cross in Amatrice.

The earth continues to shiver three days on. And with aftershocks, comes the unrelenting fear for residents.

"The future is finished. It's finished. The future is finished," said Marissa Di Tommaso, 58, a resident who used to work at one of the local schools.

"My son had two businesses here ... Everything's destroyed."

Tears fall from her eyes.

"What we do?" she asked. "I wanted to stay here but if everybody leaves ... We don't know."

Pieroni Pietro, a volunteer with the Civil Hospital Protection Service in a volunteer camp in Amatrice. Pietro is part of a unit that trains canines to locate people.

Some have returned to survey the damaged remnants of their homes. They gathered quietly at squares, where women sobbed as they clutched each other, grateful to find their friends had survived.

Men stood in silence staring absently at the detritus at their feet, too upset to speak to reporters.

Afterwards they quietly walked back to one of the few camps set up within the town limits for displaced locals.

Dominico Betterelli, 33, is a baker who lived in Amatrice before the earthquake destroyed the shop where he worked. He says "there are no words to describe [the quake]. Many deaths, many destroyed houses, a disaster."

Makeshift campsites have sprung up anywhere open space can afford safety. In one park, an untouched playground is surrounded with pitched tents where volunteers lie as they hope to steal just a few minutes of respite.

While a few of the residents remain, most have fled to the safety of nearby cities, such as Rome, to shelter with friends and family.

Stray sheep wander past the wrecked shells of homes in Accumoli.

Outside of Amatrice, displaced locals have taken refuge in a number of newly-erected campsites. One sits in a field near the commune of Accumoli, where at least 11 people were killed.

Here AnnaMaria Volpetti, 52, explained that she had been visiting her family's hometown when the quake hit.

"We are lucky," she said. "The earthquake was brutal. It came in waves."

The earthquake was brutal. It came in waves. AnnaMaria Volpetti

Along with her mother, father, son and daughter, the family have been staying in the camp for a few nights.

In the immediate aftermath of the quake, amid screaming and terror, AnnaMaria and her family were trapped within their house. They waited until neighbors were able to break their door down.

When the quake struck, she said it was like the walls of the house had turned to cardboard.

Cecilia d'Alessio takes a moment to grieve for three family members who died in the earthquake in Amatrice. She owns a home in Amatrice city center which she says has now been destroyed.

"I am very scared of that house now, I'm not going back in," AnnaMaria whispered as she recalled the moment.

"I told my father that he should get it demolished ... that he has to get a small wooden one."

She blamed the age of the regions' buildings for the level of destruction.

AnnaMaria tends to her cat near a staging area for the camp's emergency supplies. In the immediate aftermath of the quake, she and her family were trapped in their holiday home.

"These houses are very old and were made with stones from the river."

"It's sad for everyone," she said.

"We grew up here for four months a year when we were kids. But those people who live there have had many deaths: friends, relatives ... And they don't have a house to live in."

Vivek Kemp, Sara Delgrossi and Tim Lister contributed to this report from Amatrice.