A Series of Earthquakes Hit Central Italy

A series of earthquakes has struck Central Italy today. Most of the quake zone was covered in thick snow. People huddled together outside their houses, trembling from a mixture of shock and freezing temperatures. After many inhabitants saw their properties devastated by earthquakes last August, the latest catastrophy was almost too much to bear.

Earthquakes Zone

Image Credit: BBC

The largest magnitude quake, of 5.7 on the Richter scale, struck at 10:14 am local time with many aftershocks felt for several hours. The quakes happened at the same disaster-struck zone of Amatrice, that suffered devastation less than six months back. Shockwaves were reportedly felt as far away as Rome, some 60 miles south-west of the region.

Italy’s Prime Minister, Paolo Gentiloni, announced that there appeared to have been no fatalities this time, after 300 people were left dead from the quakes in August. Emerging from a meeting in Berlin with Germany’s Chancellor, Angela Merkel, he still reported to AP News Agency that it had been a “difficult day.”

The three main areas to be affected this time around are the neighboring regions of Abruzzo, Lazio and Marche. Two strong quakes of over 5 in magnitude hit within the first hour. Seismic organizations also recorded very strong aftershocks, felt around seven miles south of Amatrice.

The latest earthquakes come after two days of steady snowfall in the mountainous region of Amatrice and Norcia. While no deaths have been reported so far, the weather conditions are making local emergency services’ attempts much harder. Reaching the affected areas is very difficult and in some places, there have been warnings issued for avalanches.

Reactions on the Ground

Local schools and businesses are closed, while in Rome, the subway has been temporarily shut, as a precautionary measure. People in the region are said to be holding up, but naturally frightened by the latest force of nature.

One local woman in the Umbrian village of Ceselli, about fifty miles from the epicenter, reportedly told news agency, Reuters: “Everyone is outside. It’s very cold and windy.” Others have been heard describing the scene as “apocalyptic.” One thing is for sure, they say that lightning never strikes the same place twice. But, in Italy, it’s clear that earthquakes do.