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Italy weather: Quakes hit snowbound central regions Italy earthquakes 'a catastrophe' for snowbound central region
(about 1 hour later)
Central Italy has been struck by a series of earthquakes, as the region shivers in freezing temperatures. The president of Italy's Marche region has described three powerful new earthquakes on Wednesday as a "catastrophe" and appealed for help.
The biggest 5.7-magnitude quake struck at 10:14 local time (09:14 GMT), with others before and after. They hit an area devastated by quakes in August. Luca Ceriscioli said quakes and snow had caused landslides and thousands of families were suffering power cuts.
Shockwaves were felt in Rome, 100km (60 miles) to the south-west. A number of villages had become isolated, he said, with fallen trees blocking snow ploughs.
Almost 300 people died in the region around Amatrice last year. But Italy's PM Paolo Gentiloni said this time it seemed there were no deaths. European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker promised Italy would not be "left alone".
Nonetheless, he said in Berlin after a meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, it was a "difficult day", reported AP news agency. There were no immediate reports of deaths after the new tremors, which were all recorded as above magnitude 5.
The latest tremors mainly affected three neighbouring regions - Abruzzo, Lazio and Marche. Marche was one of the regions worst hit by the earthquake of 24 August, with 46 of its 298 victims losing their lives in a single mountain village there, Pescara del Tronto.
Two quakes of more than magnitude 5 hit within an hour of the first, and seismic organisations have recorded strong aftershocks since in the epicentre area some 10km south of Amatrice. The latest tremors also affected the neighbouring regions of Abruzzo and Lazio and were felt in the capital, Rome.
They follow some 36 hours of steady snowfall in mountainous areas around Amatrice and Norcia, which is said to be hampering emergency services' attempts to reach affected areas. In some areas, avalanche warnings have been issued. Amatrice, the Lazio town where 236 of the August deaths were recorded, is close to the epicentre of the new quakes.
Schools that were not already closed in the worst-hit areas were evacuated. Rome's underground system was shut as a safety precaution. The tremors came after some 36 hours of steady snowfall in mountainous areas around Amatrice and Norcia.
"Everyone is outside. It's very cold and windy," Lina Mercantini, in the village of Ceselli in the Umbrian region, about 80km from the epicentre area, told Reuters news agency. 'Maximum mobilisation'
"This is totally unnerving. It's never ending. We are all shaking." The first big quake struck at 10:25 (09:25 GMT) with a magnitude of around 5.3, followed at 11:14 with one of 5.4, followed some 11 minutes later by another of 5.3, according to the Italian Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (in Italian).
All three were around 9km (5.6 miles) in depth, meaning they were dangerously close to the surface.
"It's a catastrophe," Mr Ceriscioli said, as civil defence leaders met to discuss the response in Marche.
"Today's tremors and the snow of the last days add huge problems, especially on the roads, to the dramatic situation caused by the [August] earthquake.
"The lack of electricity causes serious problems to thousands of families who don't know where to go or to stay."
The priority, he said, was "taking people to safe and warm places".
He appealed for "maximum mobilisation", saying the army was already lending assistance, and called on other parts of Italy to send help to clear the roads and restore power.
Saying the rest of Europe shared Italy's pain, Jean-Claude Juncker said he was sending his commissioner in charge of humanitarian affairs to Italy.
"We will provide all kinds of efforts, instruments, helps at our disposal because I think that in that matter, as in the migration matter, Italy cannot be left alone," he said.
"An earthquake in Italy is an earthquake in Europe - that's the way I'm considering this sad event."
Schools have been evacuated in the areas worst affected while in Rome, the underground system was shut as a safety precaution.
"Everyone is outside," Lina Mercantini, in the village of Ceselli in the Umbrian region, about 80km from the epicentre area, told Reuters news agency.
"It's very cold and windy. This is totally unnerving. It's never ending. We are all shaking."
Giuseppe Di Felice, a hotel worker in Capitagno very close to the epicentre area, told state-run Rai radio people couldn't get out of their homes. "It's apocalyptic," he said.Giuseppe Di Felice, a hotel worker in Capitagno very close to the epicentre area, told state-run Rai radio people couldn't get out of their homes. "It's apocalyptic," he said.