Italy in ‘miraculous’ escape as thousands flee new earthquake

Visso /AFP

Italy was counting the cost on Thursday after another major earthquake forced thousands to flee their homes in terror but “miraculously” did not cause any fatalities.
Two months after a quake left nearly 300 dead in the country’s tremor-prone central spine, two powerful shocks ripped through the mountainous, sparsely-populated region on Wednesday evening.

Despite numerous building collapses, no deaths had been reported by midday, more than 17 hours after the first of the 5.5 and 6.1 magnitude tremors.
“Given the strength of the shocks the absence of any deaths or serious injuries, which we hope will be confirmed, is miraculous,” Interior Minister Angelino Alfano said.
The national civil protection agency described the damage as “very significant” but said they were not aware of anyone trapped under rubble.
Rescue workers began a major clean-up operation and hundreds of families were unsure where they would be living for the forseeable future.
More than 100 aftershocks rattled the area through the night after the initial two were felt in Rome, some 175km (110 miles) away from the epicentres.
Marco Rinaldi, mayor of the village of Ussita, described “apocalyptic” scenes. “People were in the streets screaming. Many houses have collapsed. Our town is finished,” he said.
“I’ve felt a lot of earthquakes but that was the strongest I’ve ever felt. Fortunately everyone had already left their homes after the first quake so I don’t think anyone was hurt.”
One 70-year-old man was reported to have died of a heart attack in nearby Tolentino but that may have been coincidental. Even in Rome, some people took to the streets as a precautionary measure, underlining lingering jitters after the summer disaster.
Wednesday’s tremors struck an area just to the north of Amatrice, the mountain town which was partially razed by the August quake and suffered the bulk of the fatalities.