Destruction Recorded in 100 Italian Cities Following Earthquake

Destruction has been registered in 100 cities in central Italy and about 40,000 people have been evacuated as a result of a strong earthquake, which ripped through parts of the country on Sunday, local media reported.

ROME (Sputnik) — In the Marche region about 25,000 people were evacuated, in Umbria 10,000-15,000, of which 3,000 are from the town of Norcia, near the epicenter of the earthquake, a further 2,000 people were evacuated from Lazio and 1,000 from Abruzzo, the newspaper Corriere della Sera reported on Monday.

Seismic activity in the area has continued. Last night, Umbria, Marche and Lazio registered at least 114 aftershocks, the strongest of which had a magnitude of 4.2 and was registered at 04:27 a.m. (03:27 GMT).

According to head of the Italian Civil Defense service Fabrizio Curcio, nobody was killed, but 20 people were injured as a result of the earthquake.

BREAKING: Strong earthquake in central Italy (6.6). Aftershocks currently being felt in #Rome. #Terremoto #Earthquake @weathernetwork pic.twitter.com/UravsqbCYV

— 50 Shades of Van (@50ShadesofVan) 30 октября 2016 г.

According to the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC), the most powerful 6.5-magnitude tremor in central Italy was registered at 06:41 GMT. The epicenter of the earthquake was 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) deep, between the cities of Perugia and Macerata. Several powerful tremors followed the major earthquake. This was the most powerful earthquake to hit Italy since 1980.