Central Italy rattled by earthquakes; no fatalities reported0:55
Earthquakes hit central Italy, one of them as strong magnitude 6.0, the USGS said, crumbling the sides of buildings though no fatalities were immediately reported.
Central Italy has been hit by a 5.4-magnitude earthquake. Picture: Twitter/EMSC
A 6.1-magnitude earthquake has struck 6km east of the central Italian city of Perugia, the United States Geological Survey says, the second of the evening whose tremors were felt as far away as Rome.
The first quake, a 5.4-magnitude tremor, struck on Wednesday evening with an epicentre seven kilometres south-southwest of the village of Visso in Macerata, near Perugia, at a depth of nine kilometres — which is relatively shallow.
The quakes crumbled churches and buildings, knocking out power and sending panicked residents into the rain-drenched streets.
One person was injured in Visso, where the rubble of collapsed buildings tumbled into the streets. But the Civil Protection agency, which initially reported two injured, had no other immediate reports of injuries or deaths.
The quakes came two months after almost 300 people were killed in the region by an earthquake that levelled several small towns.
Map of the testimonies received so far following the #earthquake M5.5 in Central Italy 40 min ago pic.twitter.com/KplbTkcryZ
— EMSC (@LastQuake) October 26, 2016
“We’re without power, waiting for emergency crews,” said the mayor of Castel Santangelo Sul Nera, a tiny town just north of some of the hard-hit areas of the August 24 quake.
Speaking to Sky TG24, he said: “We can’t see anything. It’s tough. Really tough.”
The quake was felt from Perugia in Umbria to the capital Rome to the central Italy town of Aquila, which was struck by a deadly quake in 2009.
The mayor of Aquila, however, said there was no immediate report of damage.
I'm scared... #earthquake pic.twitter.com/UfKxNSFqX4
— Anna❤️🇮🇹 (@annap905) October 26, 2016
Another big earthquake. Epicentre near Perugia, made the house shake hugely here, frightened us enough to get baby up & go out #Terremoto
— Vanda Wilcox (@Vanda_Wilcox) October 26, 2016
Experts say even relatively modest quakes that have shallow depths can cause significant damage because the seismic waves are closer to the surface.
The August 24 quake destroyed the hilltop village of Amatrice and other nearby towns and had a depth of about 10 kilometres.
That disaster caused an estimated four billion euros ($5.7 billion) of damage, with 1400 people still living in temporary accommodation.
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Firefighters in Italy posted video footage on September 5 showing its use of drones and robots in the cleanup operation following the deadly August 24 earthquake. The footage shows a combination of a drone and robot being used to survey the interior of an Amatrice church; a drone being used to survey accessibility in a church in San Lorenzo; and a drone being used to check the stability of a tower in Arquata del Tronto, respectively. Credit: Vigili del Fuoco
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