2 powerful quakes hit Italy near site of deadly August quake

[senona]

Campi, Italy (CNN)

Two powerful earthquakes Wednesday struck central Italy about 50 miles north of the site of a deadly August quake that killed nearly 300 people, the US Geological Survey said.


The second quake -- with a magnitude of 6.1 -- was 3.2 kilometers (2 miles) north of Visso and 58 km (36 miles) from Perugia, the USGS reported.


Just a few hours earlier, a magnitude-5.5 quake struck the same region. The epicenter was about 9 kilometers away, south-southwest of the town of Visso. The first quake hit at 7 p.m. (1 p.m. ET) between Perugia and Macerata, according to ANSA.

The Church of San Sebastiano stands amid damaged houses in Castelsantangelo sul Nera, Italy, following a pair of strong aftershocks that shook central Italy late Wednesday.

There have been no reports yet of injuries, although there was damage in Visso and another town, Campi, where the historic church, San Salvatore, was destroyed by the tremors -- the first severely damaged the 15th century structure and the second finished it off.

In Campi, hundreds of people were sleeping in their cars, with blankets covering the windows. The cars are parked everywhere -- streets, gas stations, parking lots. Some residents have taken their dogs with them in their cars.

Local media said one man had suffered a heart attack.

Residents were uncertain as to what might happen next, and expressed worry that another, bigger tremor, might cause even more damage.

The USGS said both earthquakes were shallow.

Source


I hope not many people were killed, but some of the buildings looked totally collapsed.
The buildings just crumbled.

Of course, the article said some buildings suffered damage from the Aug. EQ, so they were already unstable.


My thoughts and prayers once again go out to the people of Italy.