Campi, Italy (CNN) No deaths were reported Thursday in a part of central Italy rocked hours earlier by two powerful quakes, but the destruction of historic buildings led people to count the damage in the loss of their precious cultural heritage.

As dawn broke in the area, about 50 miles north of where a deadly quake killed nearly 300 people in August , rescuers were fearful of mudslides and wary about the risk of bringing heavy equipment up narrow roads linking the towns, villages and hamlets in this hilly region of the country.

The two temblors were followed by small aftershocks and one larger aftershock, measuring magnitude 4.3, which struck at 8:21 a.m. (2:21 a.m. ET) Thursday. There were no immediate reports of further damage resulting from that aftershock.

The second of the two quakes Wednesday -- with a magnitude 6.1 -- was 3.2 kilometers (2 miles) north of Visso and 58 kilometers (36 miles) from Perugia, the US Geological Survey reported.

A few hours earlier, a magnitude 5.5 quake struck the same region. The epicenter was about 9 kilometers away, south-southwest of Visso. That quake hit at 7 p.m. (1 p.m. ET) between Perugia and Macerata, according to ANSA.

Photos: Central Italy shaken by 2 earthquakes A woman walks among debris at the Church of St. Antony, dating from the 14th century, in the town of Visso on Thursday, October 27, after a pair of earthquakes rocked central Italy. A magnitude 5.5 quake struck Wednesday, October 26, followed hours later by a magnitude 6.1 temblor. No deaths were reported, but historic buildings were damaged in the region where a powerful quake killed nearly 300 people in August. Hide Caption 1 of 12 Photos: Central Italy shaken by 2 earthquakes Visso was among the more heavily damaged towns, including this post office on October 27. Hide Caption 2 of 12 Photos: Central Italy shaken by 2 earthquakes Visso residents carry some of their belongings in the aftermath on October 27. Hide Caption 3 of 12 Photos: Central Italy shaken by 2 earthquakes A house lies in ruins in Visso on October 27. Hide Caption 4 of 12 Photos: Central Italy shaken by 2 earthquakes Firefighters inspect damage in Visso on October 27. Hide Caption 5 of 12 Photos: Central Italy shaken by 2 earthquakes People wander around Visso on October 27 after the quake destroyed part of their neighborhood. Hide Caption 6 of 12 Photos: Central Italy shaken by 2 earthquakes A child sleeps in a secured area after earthquakes rocked Visso on October 26. Hide Caption 7 of 12 Photos: Central Italy shaken by 2 earthquakes The Church of San Sebastiano stands amid damaged houses in Castelsantangelo sul Nera on October 26. Hide Caption 8 of 12 Photos: Central Italy shaken by 2 earthquakes Rescuers and residents inspect earthquake damage in Visso. Hide Caption 9 of 12 Photos: Central Italy shaken by 2 earthquakes The epicenter of the first earthquake was about nine kilometers (five miles) south-southwest of Visso. Hide Caption 10 of 12 Photos: Central Italy shaken by 2 earthquakes A Halloween dummy rests on a wall in front of earthquake damage in Visso. Hide Caption 11 of 12 Photos: Central Italy shaken by 2 earthquakes Residents prepare to spend the night in makeshift shelters in Visso. Hide Caption 12 of 12

Italy's Civil Protection Agency said one person injured in Visso was taken to a hospital in Camerino, nearly 20 miles away, while dozens of others required medical attention in health facilities in the area.

The agency said a fire department helicopter would take off as soon as weather conditions allowed to rescue five people stranded overnight because of a landslide in Acquasanta.

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There was significant damage to some buildings in Visso and another town, Campi, where the tremors destroyed the historic church, San Salvatore -- the first severely damaged the 15th-century structure, and the second finished it off.

There were constant, small aftershocks throughout Thursday morning in Campi.

Residents, some with tears in their eyes, came to see what remained of San Salvatore, not only a part of the area's cultural heritage but also of significance as the scene of baptisms, weddings and funerals.

One of the quakes leaves a house destroyed Thursday in the central Italian town of Visso.

Civil Protection Agency officials assisted one elderly man carrying a basket of flowers he wanted to leave at the cemetery.

Earlier, streetlights, likely powered by generators, remained on in Campi, but houses were dark. In many small towns, in the pre-dawn hours, there was little light, further hampering rescue efforts.

A post office is damaged in Visso following the quakes.

Hundreds of people slept in their cars in Campi, with blankets covering the windows. Cars were parked everywhere -- streets, gas stations, parking lots. Some residents had their dogs with them.

Local media said one man had suffered a heart attack.

Residents expressed worry that another, bigger tremor might cause even more damage.

The US Geological Survey said both of Wednesday's earthquakes were shallow.

The main square and church in nearby Norcia, a couple of miles to the south, were badly damaged, but the church was still standing.

Residents carry some of their belongings after part of Visso was destroyed.

Reminders of August quake

Tommaso Della Longa, a spokesman for the Italian branch of the Red Cross, told CNN that many people left their homes after the first shock and went outside when the second earthquake hit about two hours later.

A child sleeps Wednesday in a secured area of Visso after the earthquakes.

Visso is about 110 miles northeast of Rome and 50 miles north of Amatrice, the small town that lost about 270 residents when a magnitude 6.2 quake hit on August 24. Another 20 people were killed in nearby towns.

Incredible aftershock or earthquake felt in Testaccio in Rome. Wow. — Barbie Latza Nadeau (@BLNadeau) October 26, 2016

The impact from Wednesday's quakes was even felt in Rome.

Video recorded by CNN affiliate Rai television showed a road to Visso that was largely blocked by a massive boulder. Cars were having to drive carefully around it.

Stone buildings in the town also were heavily damaged.

Photos: Shattered vistas from Italy's August earthquake An emergency responder passes by the rubble of the building in Amatrice where Roberto Partenza and his family lived before the earthquake struck in the pre-dawn hours of Wednesday, August 24. Hide Caption 1 of 15 Photos: Shattered vistas from Italy's August earthquake Emergency crews huddle near the iconic Amatrice clock tower still standing amid the rubble. The frozen hands of the clock rest at the time of the earthquake: 3:36 a.m. local time. Hide Caption 2 of 15 Photos: Shattered vistas from Italy's August earthquake The destroyed interior of a home is seen in Amatrice. Hide Caption 3 of 15 Photos: Shattered vistas from Italy's August earthquake The destroyed convent of Amatrice is visible from the Italian Red Cross field headquarters in Amatrice. Hide Caption 4 of 15 Photos: Shattered vistas from Italy's August earthquake A K-9 rescue crew regroups outside of the red zone in Amatrice. Hide Caption 5 of 15 Photos: Shattered vistas from Italy's August earthquake Three days on, various emergency response groups congregate in an open area in Amatrice. Rescuers were initially hindered by the lack of access to the mountain town. Hide Caption 6 of 15 Photos: Shattered vistas from Italy's August earthquake An camp for emergency volunteers is erected in a park in Amatrice. Hide Caption 7 of 15 Photos: Shattered vistas from Italy's August earthquake Rescuers congregate in the shade near a temporary camp under construction for residents displaced by the earthquake in Amatrice. Hide Caption 8 of 15 Photos: Shattered vistas from Italy's August earthquake A view of the tent camp set up by the Civil Protection Agency in the Abruzzo region as temporary housing for displaced residents from the mountain commune of Accumoli. Hide Caption 9 of 15 Photos: Shattered vistas from Italy's August earthquake AnnaMaria Volpetti, 52, stands at the entrance of the tent where she and her family have sought refuge after their ancestral holiday home was ruined in Accumoli. Hide Caption 10 of 15 Photos: Shattered vistas from Italy's August earthquake The gated doorframe of a home is the only part of it that remains standing. Hide Caption 11 of 15 Photos: Shattered vistas from Italy's August earthquake Emergency personnel survey a cordoned-off area in the center of Amatrice. Much of the town is now inaccessible to everyone but authorities. Hide Caption 12 of 15 Photos: Shattered vistas from Italy's August earthquake Cars caked in a layer of thick debris dust are parked in central Amatrice. Hide Caption 13 of 15 Photos: Shattered vistas from Italy's August earthquake A poster for the 50th anniversary of Amatrice's famous pasta festival, set to take place the weekend following the earthquake, remains on the perimeter of a park now occupied by emergency response volunteers. Hide Caption 14 of 15 Photos: Shattered vistas from Italy's August earthquake A neat fracture line in the pavement is a telling sign of the earth's violent movement below the streets of Amatrice. Hide Caption 15 of 15

Della Longa said buildings that fell in the Amatrice area have been unoccupied since the August quake. The area remains off-limits. People displaced by that quake have been forced to move once again.</s>Officials in central Italy began to assess the damage caused by a pair of strong earthquakes in the same region of central Italy hit by a deadly quake in August, as authorities scrambled to find housing for thousands of displaced residents.</s>A woman walks among debris at the Church of St. Antony, dating from the 14th century, in the town of Visso on Thursday, October 27, after a pair of earthquakes rocked central Italy. A magnitude 5.5 quake struck Wednesday, October 26, followed hours later by a magnitude 6.1 temblor. No deaths were reported, but historic buildings were damaged in the region where a powerful quake killed nearly 300 people in August.</s>The second quake -- with a magnitude of 6.1 -- was 3.2 kilometers (2 miles) north of Visso and 58 km (36 miles) from Perugia, the USGS reported.

Just a few hours earlier, a magnitude-5.5 quake struck the same region. The epicenter was about 9 kilometers away, south-southwest of the town of Visso. The first quake hit at 7 p.m. (1 p.m. ET) between Perugia and Macerata, according to ANSA.

This part of Italy is full of narrow roads linking small stone villages. Rescuers are fearful of mudslides and even of risking bringing heavy equipment up the narrow roads.

There have been no reports yet of injuries, although there was damage in Visso and another town, Campi, where the historic church, San Salvatore, was destroyed by the tremors -- the first severely damaged the 15th century structure and the second finished it off.

, in Campi, said that there were constant, small aftershocks. , in Campi, said that there were constant, small aftershocks. CNN's Barbie Nadeau , in Campi, said that there were constant, small aftershocks. Streetlights, likely powered by generators, remained on in Campi, but the town's houses remained dark. In many small towns, in the pre-dawn hours, there is little light, further hampering rescue efforts -- rescuers are forced to listen for people calling for help. The main square and the church in nearby Norcia, a couple of miles to the south, are badly damaged, but the church there is still standing. The damaged post office in Visso, central Italy following the quake. In Campi, hundreds of people were sleeping in their cars, with blankets covering the windows. The cars are parked everywhere -- streets, gas stations, parking lots. Some residents have taken their dogs with them in their cars. Local media said one man had suffered a heart attack. Residents were uncertain as to what might happen next, and expressed worry that another, bigger tremor, might cause even more damage. The USGS said both earthquakes were shallow. Residents carry some of their belongings through Visso. Visso is about 110 miles northeast of Rome and 50 miles north of Amatrice, the small town that lost about 270 residents when a magnitude-6.2 quake hit August 24. Another 20 people were killed in nearby towns. "We don't have any reported victims, but we're in the dark and under a downpour," said Mauro Falcucci, the mayor of the small town of Castelsantangelo sul Nera, according to state news agency ANSA. "We're waiting for the Civil Protection Department to bring us lighting towers." A child sleeps in a secured area of Visso after earthquakes rocked central Italy. Tommaso Della Longa, a spokesman for the Italian branch of the Red Cross, told CNN that after the first shock, many people left their homes and were outside when the second earthquake hit about two hours later. Nadeau was in Rome when the quakes struck. "Incredible aftershock or earthquake felt in Testaccio in Rome. Wow," she said on Twitter. Incredible aftershock or earthquake felt in Testaccio in Rome. Wow. — Barbie Latza Nadeau (@BLNadeau) October 26, 2016 The Church of San Sebastiano stands amid damaged houses in Castelsantangelo sul Nera, Italy, following a pair of strong aftershocks that shook central Italy late Wednesday. She said many of the towns in the area are small hamlets that won't be reachable until daylight. Video recorded by CNN affiliate Rai television showed a road to Visso that was largely blocked by a massive boulder. Cars were having to carefully drive around it. Several stone buildings in the town had been heavily damaged. An emergency responder passes by the rubble of the building in Amatrice where Roberto Partenza and his family lived before the earthquake struck in the pre-dawn hours of Wednesday, August 24. Emergency crews huddle near the iconic Amatrice clock tower still standing amid the rubble. The frozen hands of the clock rest at the time of the earthquake: 3:36 a.m. local time. The destroyed interior of a home is seen in Amatrice. The destroyed convent of Amatrice is visible from the Italian Red Cross field headquarters in Amatrice. A K-9 rescue crew regroups outside of the red zone in Amatrice. Three days on, various emergency response groups congregate in an open area in Amatrice. Rescuers were initially hindered by the lack of access to the mountain town. An camp for emergency volunteers is erected in a park in Amatrice. Rescuers congregate in the shade near a temporary camp under construction for residents displaced by the earthquake in Amatrice. A view of the tent camp set up by the Civil Protection Agency in the Abruzzo region as temporary housing for displaced residents from the mountain commune of Accumoli. AnnaMaria Volpetti, 52, stands at the entrance of the tent where she and her family have sought refuge after their ancestral holiday home was ruined in Accumoli. The gated doorframe of a home is the only part of it that remains standing. Emergency personnel survey a cordoned-off area in the center of Amatrice. Much of the town is now inaccessible to everyone but authorities. Cars caked in a layer of thick debris dust are parked in central Amatrice. A poster for the 50th anniversary of Amatrice's famous pasta festival, set to take place the weekend following the earthquake, remains on the perimeter of a park now occupied by emergency response volunteers. A neat fracture line in the pavement is a telling sign of the earth's violent movement below the streets of Amatrice. Civil protection spokesman Antonio Flippini told CNN that previously damaged buildings had suffered new collapses and that part of the Salaria highway in the Marche region near Amatrice have been closed over concerns of structural damage. Della Longa said buildings that fell in the area have been unoccupied since the August quake. The area remains off-limits. Many people displaced by that quake have been forced to move once again. Police have offered those living in tent camps the opportunity to stay farther away tonight as the rain falls.</s>Two powerful earthquakes struck central Italy on Wednesday, causing fear among residents still rattled by a deadly tremor in August.



An 6.0-magnitude earthquake hit the Marche region almost two hours after a 5.4-magnitude quake damaged buildings and cut power lines across the area.

There have been no reports of casualties so far.

The latest earthquake occurred 71 km east of Perugia, with United States Geological Survey reporting it as a 6.0-magnitude temblor, and Italy’s National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology saying it was 5.9-magnitude.

The first earthquake was detected at 7:11pm local time, about 66km to the southeast of Perugia, striking a mountainous part of the Marche region and lasting several seconds.The exact epicenter of the tremblor remains unclear, but it was relatively shallow, at about 9km below ground.

Within an hour of the first earthquake, there was a series of small but noticeable aftershocks, ranging in magnitude from 2.5 to 2.8.

“We’re in the square, all the lights are out, we can’t see, we’re counting each other to see who’s here, we still don’t know how bad the situation is,” Mauro Falcucci, mayor of Castelsantangelo sul Nera, the small commune closest to the epicenter, told Sky News by phone. “The situation is delicate. It is important to remain calm.”

The official said that the emergency is exacerbated by a downpour, and intermittent problems with mobile phone communication.

“It was a very strong, apocalyptic earthquake – people were screaming in the street, and now the lights are cut off,” said Marco Rinaldi, the mayor of Ussita, a community of 400 that was also affected by the initial earthquake.

A video posted by a Huffington Post journalist shows rubble strewn through the streets of Visso, a commune less than 10 km from the epicenter.

The Civil Protection agency, the centralized service which is receiving infromation from dozens of tiny settlements scattered across the area, say that older buildings have been damaged, or collapsed entirely, but that no injuries have been reported.

Eyewitnesses also reported a powerful tremor in the capital on the western side of the country, more than 150 km away, saying that centuries-old buildings were shaking.

Wednesday’s quakes occurred less than 70km to the north of Amatrice, a village in the seismically unstable central Apennines region that was hit by a series of earthquakes in August, resulting in nearly 300 deaths. The strongest impact there was a 6.2 earthquake on August 24, followed by more than a dozen aftershocks over the next several days.

“This earthquake is likely the activation of a new faultline, connected to August’s calamity. But we need to get closer to the epicenter, before drawing conclusions,” said Paul Messina, for the Institute of Environmental Geology and Geoengineering of the Italian National Research Council.</s>VISSO, Italy — Officials in central Italy began early Thursday to assess the damage caused by a pair of strong earthquakes in the same region of central Italy hit by a deadly quake in August, as an appeal went out for temporary housing adequate for the cold mountain temperatures.

Thousands of people spent the night in their cars following the pair of quakes that struck late in the evening, sending residents into the streets in pouring rain, too late for authorities to come up with adequate shelter. A series of small shocks overnight, including two registering magnitudes above 4 before dawn, further unsettled residents.

The morning after the quakes, there remained no reports of serious injuries or signs of people trapped in rubble. The head of Italy's civil protection agency, Fabrizio Curcio, said it appeared that the situation "is not as catastrophic" as it could have been. A 73-year-old man died of a heart attack, possibly brought on by the quakes, local authorities told the ANSA news agency.

Mayors of towns scattered in the mountain region spanning the Umbria and Marche regions say many more homes were rendered uninhabitable, on top of those damaged in the August quake, while historic structures that survived previous quakes had succumbed this time.

Camerino Mayor Gianluca Pasqui said the town's historic bell tower had collapsed, but emphasized that reconstruction work after a 6.1 quake in 1997 appeared to have contributed to the absence of serious injury.

"I can say that the city didn't have victims. That means that even if there is a lot of damage probably the reconstruction in the historic center was done in a correct and adequate manner. Because otherwise, we would be speaking of something else," Pasqui told Sky TG24.

The president of Umbria region, Catiuscia Marini, told RAI state television that officials are scrambling to come up with temporary housing, mindful that with winter approaching and temperatures dropping, tents can't be deployed as they were after the August quake. The concern for the predominantly elderly population of the remote mountain region was repeated by other officials.

Marini said that after the quakes many people will be fearful of staying even in hotels deemed safe, and that solutions like campers were being considered.

"We don't have injured, we have people who are very afraid, who have anxiety, especially the elderly," she said.

In Visso, Mayor Giuliano Passaglini said he was only able to provide shelter for a couple hundred residents overnight, and most people spent the night in their cars. About 800 people were without shelter in Visso.

Firefighters were helping residents to retrieve objects from their homes in the red zone. Most were intact, showing only cracks.

The first quake struck at 7:10 p.m. and carried a magnitude of 5.4. But the second one a little more than two hours later was eight times stronger at 6.1, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. Officials said the fact that people had already left their homes when the second quake hit probably saved lives.

"Many houses collapsed," the mayor of hard-hit Ussita, Marco Rinaldi, told Sky TG24. "The facade of the church collapsed. By now I have felt many earthquakes. This is the strongest of my life. It was something terrible."

Rinaldi said two elderly people were rescued from their home, where they were trapped, and appeared to be in good condition.

Calling it "apocalyptic," he said the town and its hamlets were "finished." In addition to the town's church, the parish and other buildings also had suffered heavy damage, he added.

A church crumbled in the ancient Perugian town of Norcia, famed for its Benedictine monastery and its cured meats. A bell-tower damaged on Aug. 24 fell and crushed a building in Camerino, the ANSA news agency said. Elsewhere, buildings were damaged, though many were in zones that were declared off-limits after the Aug. 24 quake that flattened parts of three towns.

Schools were closed in much of the area Thursday as a precaution and a handful of hospitals were evacuated after suffering damage.

Premier Matteo Renzi, who cut short a visit to southern Italy to monitor the quake response, tweeted "all of Italy is embracing those hit once again."

The pope said in a message on Twitter that he is praying for the people hit by the quake.

The quakes, shaking buildings in Rome some 230 kilometers (145 miles) southwest of the epicenter, were actually aftershocks of the magnitude 6.2 earthquake from two months ago. Because they were so close to the surface — about 10 kilometers, or 6 miles — they have the potential to cause more shaking and more damage, "coupled with infrastructure that's vulnerable to shaking," said U.S. Geological Survey seismologist Paul Earle.

"They have a lot of old buildings that weren't constructed at a time with modern seismic codes," he said.</s>ROME — A 5.4-magnitude earthquake rattled central Italy on Wednesday, knocking out power, closing a major highway and sending panicked residents into the streets just two months after a powerful temblor killed nearly 300 people.

There were scattered reports of damage to buildings, including with pieces of masonry crumbling down, but no immediate reports of victims, said Ornella De Luca, a spokeswoman for Italy's civil protection agency.

"We're without power, waiting for emergency crews," said the mayor of Castel Santangelo Sul Nera, a tiny town just north of some of the hard-hit areas of the Aug. 24 quake. Speaking to Sky TG24, he said: "We can't see anything. It's tough. Really tough."

He said some buildings had collapsed, but that there were no immediate reports of injuries. He added that darkness and a downpour were impeding a full accounting.

Italy's National Vulcanology Center said the quake struck at 7:10 p.m. local time (1710 GMT) with an epicenter at Macerata, near Perugia in the quake-prone Apennine Mountain chain. The U.S. Geological Survey put the epicenter near Visso and said it had a depth of some 10 kilometers.

Experts say even relatively modest quakes that have shallow depths can cause significant damage because the seismic waves are closer to the surface. But seismologist Gianluca Valensise said a 10-kilometer depth is within the norm for an Apennine temblor.

The Aug. 24 quake destroyed the hilltop village of Amatrice and other nearby towns and had a depth of about 10 kilometers (six miles).

"There's a lot of fear, but it would seem, fortunately, from the first reports no problems for people," said the deputy mayor of Norcia, Pietro Luigi Altavilla.

Wednesday's quake was felt from Perugia in Umbria to the capital Rome to the central Italian town of L'Aquila, which was struck by a deadly quake in 2009. The mayor of L'Aquila, however, said there was no immediate report of damage.

A section of a major state highway north of Rome, the Salaria, was closed near Arquata del Tronto because of a quake-induced landslide, said De Luca.

The mayor of Arquata del Tronco, Aleandro Petrucci, said the quake seemed stronger than the August temblor, which devastated parts of his town. But he said there were no reports of injuries to date and that the zone hardest hit by the last quake remained uninhabitable.

"We don't worry because there is no one in the red zone, if something fell, walls fell," he said.

In Rome, some 230 kilometers (145 miles) southwest from the epicenter, centuries-old palazzi shook and officials at the Foreign Ministry evacuated the building.

The quake was actually an aftershock of the magnitude 6.2 earthquake from two months ago. Because it was so close to the surface, it has the potential to cause more shaking and more damage, "coupled with infrastructure that's vulnerable to shaking," said U.S. Geological Survey seismologist Paul Earle.

"They have a lot of old buildings that weren't constructed at a time with modern seismic codes," he said.

Given the size, depth and location of the quake, the USGS estimates that about 12 million people likely felt at least weak shaking.

This quake is about 20 kilometers (12 miles) northwest of the original shock, which puts it on the northern edge of the aftershock sequence and two months is normal for aftershocks, Earle said. The August 6.2 quake was five times bigger than Wednesday's and was 11 times stronger based on energy released.

Seismologists initially thought this aftershock was magnitude 5.4 but the USGS upgraded it to 5.5 when they checked its waves and that estimate may still change, Earle said.

AP writer Colleen Barry contributed from Milan and AP science writer Seth Borenstein contributed from Washington.</s>ROME — A pair of “apocalyptic” aftershocks shook central Italy on Wednesday, crumbling buildings, knocking out power and sending panicked residents into the rain-drenched streets just two months after a powerful earthquake killed nearly 300 people.

Two people were injured in the epicenter of Visso, where the rubble of collapsed buildings tumbled into the streets. But the Civil Protection agency had no other immediate reports of injuries or deaths.

The first quake carried a magnitude of 5.4, but the second one was eight times stronger at 6.1, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

“It was an unheard-of violence. Many houses collapsed,” Ussita Mayor Marco Rinaldi told Sky TG24. “The facade of the church collapsed. By now I have felt many earthquakes. This is the strongest of my life. It was something terrible.”

Calling it “apocalyptic,” he said: “People are screaming on the street and now we are without lights.”

Old churches crumbled and other buildings were damaged, though many of them were in zones that were declared off-limits after the Aug. 24 quake that flattened parts of three towns. Schools were closed in several towns Thursday as a precaution.

“We’re without power, waiting for emergency crews,” said Mauro Falcucci, the mayor of Castelsantangelo sul Nera, near the epicenter. Speaking to Sky TG24, he said: “We can’t see anything. It’s tough. Really tough.”

He said some buildings had collapsed, but that there were no immediate reports of injuries in his community. He added that darkness and a downpour were impeding a full accounting.

Italy’s national vulcanology center said the first quake struck at 7:10 p.m. local time (1710 GMT) with an epicenter in the Macerata area, near Perugia in the quake-prone Apennine Mountain chain. The U.S. Geological Survey put the epicenter near Visso, 170 kilometers northeast of Rome, and said it had a depth of some 10 kilometers (six miles).

The second aftershock struck two hours later at 9:18 p.m. with a similar depth.

Experts say even relatively modest quakes that have shallow depths can cause significant damage because the seismic waves are closer to the surface. But seismologist Gianluca Valensise said a 10-kilometer depth is within the norm for an Apennine temblor.

The Aug. 24 quake destroyed the hilltop village of Amatrice and other nearby towns and had a depth of about 10 kilometers. Amatrice Mayor Sergio Pirozzi said residents felt Wednesday’s aftershocks but “We are thanking God that there are no dead and no injured.”

The original Aug. 24 6.2-magnitude quake was still 41 percent stronger than even the second aftershock.

Wednesday’s temblors were felt from Perugia in Umbria to the capital Rome to the central Italian town of L’Aquila, which was struck by a deadly quake in 2009. The mayor of L’Aquila, however, said there were no immediate reports of damage there.

A section of a major state highway north of Rome, the Salaria, was closed near Arquata del Tronto as a precaution because of a quake-induced landslide, said a spokeswoman for the civil protection agency, Ornella De Luca.

The mayor of Arquata del Tronto, Aleandro Petrucci, said the aftershocks felt stronger than the August quake, which devastated parts of his town. But he said there were no reports of injuries to date and that the zone hardest hit by the last quake remained uninhabitable.

“We don’t worry because there is no one in the red zone, if something fell, walls fell,” he said.

In Rome, some 230 kilometers (145 miles) southwest from the epicenter, centuries-old palazzi shook and officials at the Foreign Ministry evacuated the building.

The quakes were actually aftershocks of the magnitude 6.2 earthquake from two months ago. Because they were so close to the surface, it has the potential to cause more shaking and more damage, “coupled with infrastructure that’s vulnerable to shaking,” said U.S. Geological Survey seismologist Paul Earle.

“They have a lot of old buildings that weren’t constructed at a time with modern seismic codes,” he said.

Given the size, depth and location of the quakes, the USGS estimates that about 24 million people likely felt at least weak shaking.

This original quake was about 20 kilometers (12 miles) northwest of the original shock, which puts it on the northern edge of the aftershock sequence and two months is normal for aftershocks, Earle said.</s>There were scattered reports of damage to buildings, including with pieces of masonry crumbling down, but no immediate reports of victims, said Ornella De Luca, a spokeswoman for Italy's civil protection agency.

"We're without power, waiting for emergency crews," said the mayor of Castel Santangelo Sul Nera, a tiny town just north of some of the hard-hit areas of the Aug. 24 quake. Speaking to Sky TG24, he said: "We can't see anything. It's tough. Really tough."

He said some buildings had collapsed, but that there were no immediate reports of injuries. He added that darkness and a downpour were impeding a full accounting.

Italy's National Vulcanology Center said the quake struck at 7:10 p.m. local time (1710 GMT) with an epicenter at Macerata, near Perugia in the quake-prone Apennine Mountain chain. The U.S. Geological Survey put the epicenter near Visso and said it had a depth of some 10 .

Experts say even relatively modest quakes that have shallow depths can cause significant damage because the seismic waves are closer to the surface. But seismologist Gianluca Valensise said a depth is within the norm for an Apennine temblor.

The Aug. 24 quake destroyed the hilltop village of Amatrice and other nearby towns and had a depth of about 10 (six miles).

"There's a lot of fear, but it would seem, fortunately, from the first reports no problems for people," said the deputy mayor of Norcia, Pietro Luigi Altavilla.

Wednesday's quake was felt from Perugia in Umbria to the capital Rome to the central Italian town of L'Aquila, which was struck by a deadly quake in 2009. The mayor of L'Aquila, however, said there was no immediate report of damage.

The mayor of Arquata del Tronco, Aleandro Petrucci, said the quake seemed stronger than the August temblor, which devastated parts of his town. But he said there were no reports of injuries to date and that the zone hardest hit by the last quake remained uninhabitable.

"We don't worry because there is no one in the red zone, if something fell, walls fell," he said.

The quake was actually an aftershock of the magnitude 6.2 earthquake from two months ago. Because it was so close to the surface, it has the potential to cause more shaking and more damage, "coupled with infrastructure that's vulnerable to shaking," said U.S. Geological Survey seismologist Paul Earle.

Given the size, depth and location of the quake, the USGS estimates that about 12 million people likely felt at least weak shaking.

This quake is about 20 (12 miles) northwest of the original shock, which puts it on the northern edge of the aftershock sequence and two months is normal for aftershocks, Earle said. The August 6.2 quake was five times bigger than Wednesday's and was 11 times stronger based on energy released.</s>ROME - A series of strong earthquakes rocked a wide area of central Italy on Wednesday, striking fear among residents rattled by a deadly tremor in August, but there were no reports of casualties and few serious injuries.

The three quakes, which struck about two hours apart from each other, caused the collapse of several old structures, including a number of historic rural churches that were empty at the time.

The first measure magnitude 5.4, the second 6.1 and the third 4.9, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

About five hours after the first quake, Civil Protection department chief Fabrizio Curcio said "tens" of people were reported hurt but only four suffered serious, non-life threatening injuries.

"The reports are not as catastrophic as we feared," he said.

All indications were that the damage would not approach that caused by the major quake that struck the Marche, Lazio and Umbria regions on Aug. 24, which devastated several towns and killed nearly 300 people.

Amateur video footage on television showed clouds of dust rising as parts of buildings collapsed in some towns, including Camerino in the Marche region, where a bell tower fell on a building.

Massive boulders, some the size of cars, fell on the main north-south road of the Nera River valley that links mountain communities.

The tremors sent residents running into the streets in the rain and were strong enough to be felt as far south as the outskirts of Naples more than 250 km (150 miles) away and as far north as Venice, some 300 km (180 miles) away. Masonry fell from some buildings in Rome.
A series of earthquakes strikes a region of Central Italy already impacted by a major quake in August. Many buildings are damaged or destroyed across several towns.