ALERT: Italy: 6.6 Magnitude Earthquake “Tremor” Hits Central Italy Near Norcia

ALERT: Italy: 6.6 Magnitude Earthquake “Tremor” Hits Central Italy Near Norcia

Italy has been rocked by additional earthquakes including a 6.6 magnitude tremor in the nation’s center

near Norcia. At least 20 have been injured, but there are no immediate reports of deaths.

According to CNN:

A powerful 6.6-magnitude earthquake rocked central Italy on Sunday morning,

injuring at least 20 people, in the strongest tremor to hit the country in more

than three decades.

The earthquake follows tremors last week and comes on off the heels of

a devastating quake in August, which killed nearly 300 people and flattened

entire villages.

The town center of Amatrice was badly damaged in August’s quake and was

battered again in Sunday’s temblor.

Sunday’s earthquake struck at a shallow depth of just 10 kilometers, according to

the US Geological Survey, making it more likely to cause damage.

Residents ran onto the streets in a panic as the quake struck at 7:40 a.m. local

time (2:40 a.m. ET) Sunday, and rescuers were seen soon after, helping evacuate

a group of nuns from a church. They worked through aftershocks that hit every

20 minutes or so.

Authorities are hopeful there may be no deaths since many residents in the

region had already been evacuated to emergency camps and hotel rooms paid for

by the government after the August quake and last week’s temblors, and schools

had shut down in anticipation of powerful aftershocks.

Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi in Rome thanked rescuers and vowed to

rebuild damaged villages.

“Italy has many faults, but these situations bring out the best of us,” he said,

adding the country would rebuild houses, churches and shops.

“We will rebuild everything. We have the resources to do it.”

Italian civil protection staff pass a collapsed wall Sunday in Norcia after the

quake jolted central Italy. The main road into the worst-affected area has been

blocked at various points, said Curcio, the civil protection chief, and helicopters

were airlifting the injured to the hospital in Foligno, around 30 kilometers to the

northwest. Six aircraft were monitoring the affected regions, he added.

Initial images from Sunday’s quake show devastation to some historical

buildings. Many of these buildings had not been reinforced since two powerful

quakes struck Wednesday. The town center of Amatrice took another battering

Sunday after most of its buildings were seriously damaged in the August quake —

a lone bell tower was seen poking up among the rubble. The much-visited Basilica

of San Benedetto in Norcia was leveled at its core, only its facade still somewhat

intact. Central Italy is a deeply Catholic region.