ROME (AP) – A pair of strong aftershocks shook central Italy late Wednesday, crumbling churches and buildings, knocking out power and sending panicked residents into the rain-drenched streets just two months after a powerful earthquake killed nearly 300 people.
One person was injured in the epicenter of Visso, where the rubble of collapsed buildings tumbled into the streets. But the Civil Protection agency, which initially reported two injured, had no other immediate reports of injuries or deaths.
The first quake carried a magnitude of 5.4, but the second one was eight times stronger at 6.1, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. Because many residents had already left their homes after the first one struck at 7:10 p.m., with plans to spend the night in their cars or elsewhere, they weren’t home when the second one hit two hours later, possibly saving lives, news reports said.
“It was an unheard-of violence. Many houses collapsed,” Ussita Mayor Marco Rinaldi told Sky TG24. “The facade of the church collapsed. By now I have felt many earthquakes. This is the strongest of my life. It was something terrible.”
Rinaldo said two elderly people were rescued from their home, where they were trapped. He said they appeared to be in good condition. Some 200 people in Ussita will sleep in the streets, given the impossibility of putting up tents in the night.