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1st LD Writethru: Second powerful quake hits central Italy after 5.4-magnitude temblor

Xinhua, October 27, 2016 Adjust font size:

A second strong quake hit central Italy late on Wednesday, soon after a 5.4-magnitude temblor had struck the same areas located in the province of Macerata in the Marche region.

The latest quake hit at 9:18 p.m. local time (1918 GMT) and carried a magnitude of 5.9 on the Richter scale, according to Italy's National Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (INGV). The first one had struck at 7:11 p.m. local time (1711 GMT).

The epicentre of both tremors was registered in the Valnerina valley, a mountainous area between the cities of Macerata and Perugia, the capital of the Umbria region.

It was at a relatively shallow depth of 9 km, and the nearest urban areas were the villages of Castelsantangelo sul Nera, Visso, Ussita, and Preci in the province of Macerata, the INGV stated.

The events wreaked havoc among the local population, which had already gone through a powerful quake only two months ago.

Some buildings partly collapsed in the villages around Macerata, and one people were reportedly injured in Visso, but no further casualties were immediately reported, according to Italy's civil protection head Fabrizio Curcio.

Some makeshift camps were being set up for panicked residents, who left their homes for fear of further events, RAI News 24 state broadcaster reported citing local authorities.

Communications and power lines were disrupted on Wednesday evening, and a major highway connecting the affected areas was closed, according to the Italian civil protection agency.

Both quakes were clearly felt in other provinces of Marche region, in the central cities of Perugia and Ancona, and as far as in the capital Rome, which lies some 230 km to the west from the epicentre.

The new tremors would be linked to a major quake that occurred in central Italy in August, La Repubblica newspaper reported citing an INGV expert.

"This quake occurred within the area already hit (by the previous one). It might be the opening of a new fault line," seismologist Alessandro Amato told La Repubblica online.

On Aug. 24, the central regions of Lazio and Marche were hit by a 6.0-magnitude earthquake. Some 298 people were killed and 400 injured, while several thousands were left displaced. Endit