It will take up to two months to estimate the full scale of damage caused by the quake which rocked the central city of L'Aquila and surroundings, Premier Silvio Berlusconi said on Wednesday.
Speaking to reporters after touring the quake-stricken areas, Berlusconi said that ''it will take a month-and-a-half to two months to come up with a definitive estimate of the damages''.
The premier, who is on his third visit to the area, said he was ready to return every day if necessary.
A staff of 1,000 technicians will begin evaluating the damage to public buildings and homes in L'Aquila and surrounding towns on Thursday, he said.
''(Aerial) photos of the entire area are already available and technicians are already working on this data,'' said the premier, stressing that ''the main priority will be returning still-liveable houses to their owners and opening up public buildings like schools''.
The premier praised rescue workers, saying he was ''touched'' by the courage of firemen and troops ''who really risked their lives to pull people out of the rubble''.
''We're not short of courageous Italians,'' he said, adding that ''Italy had responded to the emergency''.
Responding to a foreign journalist who called ''out of place'' his quip on Tuesday that living in emergency field tents was somewhat like ''going camping'', the premier said ''No, I don't think so''.
Berlusconi said the government had brought in paediatricians dressed as clowns to help children deal with Monday's devasting quake and ongoing aftershocks.
''This was needed to dispel an atmosphere of pessimism, negativity and death when a similar situation forces people to stay on,'' he said, reiterating an invitation to families to accept state-funded accomodations in hotels.
Berlusconi said 17,000 hotel rooms were available for survivors.
