Powerful earthquake hits Italy
Two strong earthquakes struck Italy on Wednesday night damaging buildings and causing people to evacuate their homes. A 5.4 magnitude quake was followed two hours later by a larger quake measuring 6.0 on the richter scale, according to the US Geological Survey. The Independent reports.
The area affected is in central Italy 66km to the east of Perugia. The tremors caused the collapse of several old structures, including ancient churches. No one is reported to have been killed, but Civil Protection department chief Fabrizio Curcio told Reuters one person had been injured.
Wednesday's quake struck at 7.10pm local time near the province of Macerata at a depth of just 9km. It was initially measured at 5.6, but was later revised down.
It comes just two months after a powerful quake killed nearly 300 people in central Italy and destroyed the hilltop village of Amatrice.