About 20 people were injured in the earthquake, which shook the central part of Italy this morning, the Italian authorities announced, and the Prime Minister of that country, Matteo Renzi, confirmed that there are no victims so far.
According to the Italian authorities, these are mainly minor injuries, reports AP.
Renzi spoke five hours after an earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6,6 struck central Italy, the country's strongest since 1980.
Renci said that despite the strength of the earthquake "at this moment there is no loss of human life".
The same information was announced earlier today by the head of the Italian Civil Protection Service, Fabricio Kurćo, who said that no victims were recorded in the strong earthquake that shook the central part of Italy at 7,40:XNUMX this morning, but several people were injured, one of them seriously.
"No deaths have been reported, but a number of people have been injured," he said at a press conference earlier today, adding that only one person was in serious condition, Reuters reported.
Kurćo stated that the Service uses helicopters to transfer the injured to hospitals and to assess the damage from the earthquake.
He presented the information that in recent days 1.300 people from the affected area were evacuated to the Italian coast after the two earthquakes that occurred on Wednesday and added that the evacuation will continue.
A strong earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6,6 hit central and southern Italy that was previously hit by earthquakes in August and earlier this week, when thousands of people were left homeless.
The European-Mediterranean Seismological Center said the earthquake had a magnitude of 6,6 or 6,5, with an epicenter 132 kilometers northeast of Rome and 67 kilometers east of Perugia, near the epicenter of earthquakes that occurred earlier this week.
The mayor of Usita, which was hit by the earthquake, Marko Rinaldi, said that a large cloud of smoke rose over the collapsed buildings.
"This is a disaster, a disaster," Rinaldi told the Italian news agency ANSA.
The earthquake was felt across Italy, with reports from the city of Bolzano in the north to Bari in the south.
The greatest damage was recorded in the town of Norča, known for its Benedictine monastery and cured meat products.
Witnesses state that the cathedral of St. Benedict from the 14th century, on one of the main squares in Norca, collapsed in this morning's earthquake, so only the facade remained in one piece.
The media noted that the priests stood in the square in front of the ruins of the cathedral and prayed.
The director of the Italian Civil Protection Service in the Marche region, Ćesare Spuri, said that he has information that in many cities in the area affected by this morning's earthquake, certain buildings have collapsed, the AP agency reported.
The American Institute first announced that the magnitude was 7,1 degrees on the Richter scale, but later revised that information to 6,6 degrees, Reuters reported.
The Institute's announcement states that the epicenter of the earthquake was 68 kilometers east of the city of Perugia, at a depth of 1,5 kilometers.
RAI television reported that the quake was so strong it woke up residents of Rome, who reported feeling walls shaking.
A slightly milder earthquake, measuring 6,4 on the Richter scale, shook the same area near Perugia on Wednesday, and was felt even in Rome.
Two months ago, an earthquake in the same area leveled several smaller towns, killing almost 300 people.
The Pope prayed for earthquake-stricken Italy
The head of the Roman Catholic Church, Pope Francis, prayed for the people affected by the latest earthquake measuring 6,6 on the Richter scale, which shook the central part of Italy this morning, as well as for the people offering their help.
Those gathered in St. Peter's Square in the Vatican interrupted the pope with applause after he mentioned the earthquake during his regular Sunday mass, the AP agency reported.
"I pray for the injured and their families, who suffered the most, as well as the rescuers and first aid workers," said the head of the Catholic Church.
At the beginning of the month, the Pope visited the survivors of the August 24 earthquake, in which almost 300 people died in the same area where today's earthquake occurred.
Renci: We will rebuild all buildings destroyed by earthquakes
Italy will rebuild all the houses, churches and other buildings destroyed in a series of earthquakes in the last two months, Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi said today.
"We will rebuild everything, houses, churches and businesses. Everything that needs to be done to rebuild these areas will be done," Renzi said just hours before another powerful earthquake hit central Italy, Reuters reported.
The earthquake in Italy was also felt in BiH and Croatia
The earthquake, which hit central Italy, was also felt in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), the Sarajevo portal Klix.ba reports today.
As stated, the earthquake with a strength of around seven degrees on the Richter scale caused ground movement in Bihać, Čapljina and Banja Luka, and milder ground shaking was recorded in Travnik, Zenica and Sarajevo.
The portal reports that during the morning, residents of Western BiH reported ground shaking, which woke them up.
The earthquake was also felt by residents of the northern coast of Croatia - in Zadar, Pula, Šibenik, Split and Knin.
Bonus video:
