Italy rocked by powerful 6.6-magnitude earthquake

Buildings destroyed and people injured after country hit by another quake

A powerful earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.6 has rocked the same area of central and southern Italy hit by a quake in August and a pair of aftershocks last week.

It has sent already damaged buildings crumbling after a week of quakes that have left thousands homeless.

The head of Italy’s civil protection agency, Fabrizio Curcio, said there were no immediate reports of deaths, but said some people had suffered injuries as numerous buildings that had resisted the previous shocks collapsed.

Residents already rattled by a constant trembling of the earth rushed into piazzas and streets after being roused from bed by the quake at 7.40am local time.

Many people had still been sleeping in cars or evacuated to shelters or hotels in other areas after a pair of strong jolts last Wednesday.

Television images showed nuns rushing out of their church and into the main piazza in Norcia as the clock tower appeared about to crumble. One had to be carried by firefighters, while another was supported as she walked.

The mayor of quake-hit Ussita said a huge cloud of smoke erupted from the crumbled buildings.

“It’s a disaster, a disaster!” mayor Marco Rinaldi told the ANSA news agency. “I was sleeping in the car and I saw hell.”

Another hard-hit city, Castelsantangelo sul Nera, also suffered new damage. In Arquata del Tronto, which had been devastated by the August 24 earthquake that killed nearly 300 people, Arquata mayor Aleandro Petrucci said: “There are no towns left.” “Everything came down.” The quake was felt throughout the Italian peninsula, with reports as far north as Bolzano and as far south as Bari. Residents rushed into the streets in Rome, where ancient palazzi shook, swayed and lurched for a prolonged spell.

Austria’s governmental earthquake monitoring organisation said the quake was felt to varying degrees in the east and south of the country and all the way to the city of Salzburg.

It says that at its strongest, residents in upper floors noticed a swaying sensation and a slow swinging of hanging objects.

The head of the civil protection authority in Italy’s Marche region, Cesare Spuri, said there have been reports of buildings collapsing in many cities.

Picture: AP. A firefighter and a soldier look at rubble in the town of Amatrice.