Thousands homeless after devastating quakes hit central Italy
Another strong earthquake, the strongest in 36 years, hit central Italy on Sunday, October 30, 2016, and was followed by a series of dangerous aftershocks. Between 18:21 UTC on October 30 and 11:23 UTC on October 31, 63 aftershocks were reported, the strongest of which were two M4.2, recorded on October 31 at 03:27 UTC and 07:05 UTC.
A strong and shallow earthquake registered as M6.5 hit central Italy on October 30, 06:40 UTC, at a depth of 10 km (6.2 miles). The newest quake happened only a few days after a strong M6.1 hit the area and only two months after the devastating August M6.2.
Video courtesy AFP
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USGS estimated a shaking up to "Severe" for 50 000 people.
It was the strongest earthquake in Italy since 1980, EMSC said. Also, this is the first time that three large tremors hit Italy only four days apart, making it the strongest ground motion reported.
15 000 homes have suffered a power outage and destruction has been registered in 100 cities.
A hospital in Cascia was evacuated, while cracks in the buildings appeared even as far away as Rome where the underground train network has forced to shut down for structural checks.
Luckily, no deaths or serious injuries have been reported.
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According to local media, about 40 000 people have been evacuated.
As of early morning UTC on October 31, Italian Civil Protection reported that at least 20 people have been injured and hundreds of buildings have been damaged in the regions of Umbria and Marche.
Several roads still remain closed and rail traffic has been disrupted in Umbria, Marche and Abruzzo regions.
Many people are sleeping in their cars, camper vans or even tents.
Central Italy has seen several major quakes in recent years. Earthquakes which devastated the town of L'Aquila in 2009 and Amatrice in August this year killed about 300 people each.
Featured image credit: Ruptly TV
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