Several Towns Evacuate after EQ in Italy

[link to hisz.rsoe.hu]


Italian authorities evacuated hundreds of people from their homes after a magnitude 4.2 earthquake shook the Umbria region of central Italy on Tuesday, causing slight damage to buildings but no injuries. The civil protection agency said the quake was strongest around the town of Perugia.


In the commune of Marsciano, civil protection agents evacuated about 500 residents after the old buildings in which they lived were damaged by the tremor. They will be housed in a gym while the extent of the damage is assessed. In April, a strong earthquake struck the Abruzzo region of central Italy, killing about 300 people and making tens of thousands homeless.


Situation Update No. 1
On 16.12.2009 at 04:27 GMT+2

An earthquake registering 4.2 on the Richter scale Tuesday caused panic and damaged houses along the border of the Italian regions of Umbria and Tuscany. The earthquake was most noticeable in the city of Perugia and surrounding areas. Several smaller towns were evacuated, according to Italian Agriculture Minister Luca Zaia. It was unclear how many people, if any, had been injured.


An aftershock measuring 2.8 on the Richter scale spread fear, but cause neither damage nor injuries, reported emergency services agencies. An April earthquake with a magnitude of 6.3 flattened large parts of the region around the southern Italian city of L'Aquila, leaving tens of thousands homeless for months.