COLUMBUS (WCMH) – The tragic earthquake in central Italy is concerning people here in central Ohio with relatives who live abroad.

It’s especially hitting close to home at the St. John the Baptist Italian Catholic Church, where many members have family who live in the region that has now been reduced to rubble.

“It’s devastating to hear about this,” says Rick Brunetto, chairman of the Columbus Italian Festival. “We haven’t heard any reports yet of any family members or relatives at the church yet, but again it’s so early to tell.”

He says so far, no one they know has been hurt.

“It’s such a tragedy,” says Brunetto. “They are in our thoughts and prayers and we’re all hoping for the best outcome.”

Meanwhile, there are several Italian clubs in the area who say they are working to collect donations from their members to help in the relief efforts.

“They’re going to run out of stuff quickly,” says Columbus Italian Club (CIC) member Bill DeMora. “They’re going to run out of beds. They’re going to run out of medicine, bandages and they’re already out of blood and we’re going to try to do what we can do to help.”

He says the CIC hopes to collect thousands of dollars, as they have in the past for other disasters.

“The roads are blocked. People can’t even get there to even check on people to get them out from underneath the buildings if they’re still alive right now,” says DeMora. “Unfortunately, a lot of the small towns in Italy if you’ve ever been to them, their houses are hundreds and hundreds of years old before there was any kind of earthquake protections and they just crumble.”

He says they want to help as many people as they can.

“We’re all Italians and even though were (in the) United States that’s our homeland.”

Some major cell phone companies including, AT&T, Sprint, Verizon and T-Mobile are offering free calls and texts to Italy for a short period of time in the aftermath of the earthquake.

Here is a list of place you can donate to help in the relief efforts:

– Order Sons of Italy in America (www.osia.org/secure/donate-sif )

– Italian Red Cross (http://www.cri.it/)

– Or to donate to the Italian Red Cross in English (https://www.ammado.com/widget/donate?178465)

– The National Italian American Foundation (https://www.italianamericanrelief.org/)