[4] It was reported that shortly after a series of earthquakes hit the region, many guests of the four-star Hotel Rigopiano were gathered on the ground floor awaiting evacuation when the avalanche struck at 16:48 local time on 18 January.

[citation needed] Upon impact, the avalanche caused part of the roof of the hotel to collapse, and moved it 10 metres (33 ft) down the mountain.

[citation needed] Due to harsh conditions that inhibited helicopters from flying, first responders had difficulty reaching the hotel.

[21] Individuals from emergency services, civil protection, alpine rescue and volunteers including asylum seekers worked with technology to track body heat, phone signals and other data, and drones to locate victims.

Quintino Marcella, the owner of the restaurant L'Isola Felice in Silvi, received a call from the survivor and attempted to contact authorities on numerous occasions but was purportedly not taken seriously.

[24] On 22 January, the mayor of Farindola, Ilario Lacchetta, announced that he was planning on filing a lawsuit against the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo for publishing a cartoon allegedly mocking victims of the disaster.

[26] On 31 January, Italian judges announced that autopsies revealed that almost all of the victims died immediately from the impact of the avalanche itself, rather than succumbing to hypothermia in the days following the disaster.

The mayor of Farindola was found guilty of failing to order the evacuation of the hotel and received the longest sentence, two years and eight months in prison.

[28][29] A year after the incident, on 18 January 2018, a day of remembrance was held during which victims' relatives, local residents and representatives of the authorities and emergency services read prayers and poems and laid flowers outside the ruins of the hotel.