Central Italy hit by another earthquake

A magnitude 4.8 earthquake struck central Italy on Thursday morning in the same region hit by recent strong quakes.

The US Geological Survey (USGS) initially measured the quake at 5 but later revised it to 4.8.

Its epicentre was in the Marche region, one of three areas hit repeatedly since August. Striking at 1:35am, the earthquake was very shallow, being only 10km deep, and was centred 51.5km southeast of Perugia. The shallow depth would have intensified the shaking at the surface.

Nearly 10 hours after the latest quake, there were no reports of casualties, injuries or serious damage to buildings already weakened by previous tremors.

Two earthquakes measuring 5.5 and 6.1 hit the area a week ago, followed by a 6.6 magnitude quake on Sunday, the biggest temblor to strike Italy for 36 years. 

Sunday’s earthquake reduced historic towns and villages in the Apennine mountains to rubble on Sunday, reshaping more than 600 square kilometres of land and lowering areas around the epicentre by up to 70 cm, according to data released by Italy's National Institute for Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV). It also displaced 15,000 people.

The worst-affected areas were Umbria, Marche, and parts of rural Lazio, with 300 people being killed. Since then, some 21,600 aftershocks have battered the region, the INGV said, driving most residents from their homes.