Powerful quake rattles Italy; no deaths immediately reported
ROME — A powerful earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.6 on Sunday rocked the same area of central and southern Italy hit by quake in August and a pair of aftershocks last week, sending already quake-damaged buildings crumbling after a week of temblors that have left thousands homeless.
The head of Italy’s civil protection agency, Fabrizio Curcio, said there were no immediate reports of deaths, but that some people had suffered injuries as numerous buildings that had resisted the previous temblors collapsed. He said authorities were responding with helicopters as many roads were blocked from rockslides.
Residents already rattled by a constant trembling of the earth rushed into piazzas and streets after being roused from bed by the 7:40 a.m. quake.
Many people still had been sleeping in cars or evacuated to shelters or hotels in other areas after a pair of strong jolts on Wednesday. Curcio said 1,300 had been evacuated to the coast, and more would follow.