Earthquakes brought an icy chill of terror to snowbound central Italy on Wednesday as four powerful shocks reverberated through an area still recovering from deadly tremors previous year. Additionally, according to the Global Earthquake Activity Rate (GEAR) model, this earthquake should not be considered surprising.
The quake was reportedly felt across Lazio, Abruzzo and Marche.
This most recent quake struck just days after the Pope baptised babies born in the area affected by last year's tragedy.
As a series of powerful earthquakes rocked Central Italy, officials have started evacuating the metro system and certain schools in Italy's capital Rome.
The quake is the latest to hit the region after 300 people died in August when the town of Amatrice was flattened.
The first quake was a 5.3 magnitude that was felt around 10:25 AM (CET), a second quake was felt close to an hour later with a magnitude of 5.7.
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No injuries or damage to buildings have so far been reported, according to Reuters.
Amatrice, the rural town that was flattened by the August 24 natural disaster where at least 230 people were killed - according to officials, is about 4.3 miles from Wednesday's epicenter.
The tower of one of Amatrice's churches was toppled in the earthquakes. Tremors have reshaped more than 230 square miles of land. That's what I have been asking since yesterday. "Christ knows who's getting the worst of it". "We have got up to two meters of snow and now another quake".
On January 14, Pope Francis baptised 13 babies from central Italy, in a gesture of closeness to the victims of last year's earthquakes.
Italy straddles Eurasian and African tectonic plates, making it vulnerable to quakes.
