6.3 magnitude earthquake hits central Italy - reports of collapsed buildingsA large earthquake of magnitude 6.3 hit central Italy in the early hours of Monday morning, according to the United States Geological Survey.
Buildings were reported collapsed in the centre of Aquila, capital of the Abruzzo region, 50 miles north-east of Rome and close to the quake's epicentre.
According to the website of the Italian newspaper La Repubblica, police in the town, which has a population of 73,000, said people were trapped in the rubble and that many people could be injured.
Residents in Rome were woken by the quake when it struck at about 3.30am local time. Rafael Abreu, of the USGS described the event as a shallow quake and said that the region had been hit by a smaller magnitude 4 quake earlier in the day. The USGS had earlier estimated that the quake measured 6.7.
Abreu said residents in the area should be braced for aftershocks, adding: "This is a significant quake, a shallow quake with possibility of damage and injuries."
The country's civil protection services were reportedly being called in to help residents affected by the quake and a local reporter, Nick Pisa, told Sky News that people were assembling in the streets in Rome, which is rarely affected by seismic events, braced for aftershocks. Local reports described furniture rattling and car alarms being set off.
The quake was the latest and strongest in a series to hit the l'Aquila area on Sunday and Monday. Earthquakes can be particularly dangerous in parts of Italy, which is a treasure house of centuries-old buildings.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/apr/06/italy
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