Two strong earthquakes hit northern Italy with just two hours interval!
A M5.5 earthquake at 5:11pm UTC was followed by a M6.1 at 7:18pm UTC rattling houses as far away as Rome, 80 miles away.
Two powerful earthquakes – measuring 5.5-magnitude and 6.1-magnitude – have hit northern Italy, shaking buildings as far away as the capital, Rome, 80 miles away.
Church in Visso damaged by #earthquake in #Italy #Terremoto @inewsmalta pic.twitter.com/gGr5SBSr1F
— Jake Azzopardi (@JakeaAzzopardi) October 26, 2016
Some buildings have collapsed, a motorway has been closed and many people in the countryside were plunged into darkness as the power was knocked out.
However, there have been no reports of casualties.
The US Geological Survey said the first earthquake at 5.10pm local time measured M5.6 on the Richter scale but that was later revised to M5.5.
It was centered at Castel Santangelo Sul Nera, near Perugia.
The second quake – epicenter near Visso – was felt as far south as Rome, with buildings swaying for even longer than the initial quake.
The Mayor of the town of Ussita, Marco Rinaldi, said: ‘It was a very strong earthquake, apocalyptic. People are screaming on the street and now we are without lights.‘
The mayor of Castel Santangelo Sul Nera – one of the worst-affected municipalities – said today: ‘We’re without power, waiting for emergency crews. We can’t see anything. It’s tough. Really tough… Numerous collapses, all the people currently in the street (about 300 people)‘
Today’s earthquakes measured M5.4 and M6.1.
We are close to the M6.2 tremor, which devastated villages like Pescara Del Tronto two months ago, killing 300.
