Strong aftershocks two days after central Italy's devastating earthquake jeopardised increasingly desperate search efforts on Wednesday as the death toll rose to 250.

The jolts added to a night of misery for more than 200 homeless survivors of central Italy's earthquake who were unable to find shelter at camps set up around L'Aquila, the epicentre of Monday's 6.2-magnitude quake.

"Shame on you!" screamed a woman at one of the tent cities. "Rai (television) says everything's under control, but we can't even get into the tents."

At least seven strong shocks hit the region through the night, the latest around 6:30 am (0430 GMT).

A grandmother caring for her three-month-old granddaughter said she knew the aftershocks could not harm them in their tent, but said, "It was still scary when you feel the earth move."

Several guests at L'Aquila's Federico II hotel, one of the few businesses still open in the medieval walled city, preferred to spend the night in their car after noticing floor-to-ceiling cracks appearing in the walls.

As rescuers resumed the increasingly desperate hunt for survivors the death toll rose to 250, the ANSA news agency reported quoting civil protection officials.