ROME: An earthquake with a magnitude of 5.1 struck northern Italy near the city of Parma and was followed hours later by a smaller quake, but no one was injured, officials said.
Train services were briefly interrupted on some lines and there was minor damage to some buildings, including two churches.
Startled Italians jammed telephone lines after the initial quake that was unusually strong for northern Italy and was felt from the financial capital Milan to Florence to Trieste.
A second, smaller quake struck with a magnitude of 4.7, the Civil Protection Agency said. One press official described it as an aftershock.
Earthquakes can be particularly dangerous in parts of Italy where centuries-old buildings are left in disrepair. In 2002, a quake measuring 5.4 flattened a school in the southern Molise region, killing 27 children and a teacher.
Enzo Boschi, head of the National Institute of Geophysics, said Tuesday’s main quake appeared to be “nothing catastrophic”.
The U.S. Geological Survey gave higher estimates for the scale of the earthquakes, putting the magnitude of the first one at 5.3 and the second at 5.2.
It said the first earthquake struck at a depth of 28.9 km, while the second was at a more shallow 17 km.
Train services were briefly interrupted on some lines and there was minor damage to some buildings, including two churches.
Startled Italians jammed telephone lines after the initial quake that was unusually strong for northern Italy and was felt from the financial capital Milan to Florence to Trieste.
A second, smaller quake struck with a magnitude of 4.7, the Civil Protection Agency said. One press official described it as an aftershock.
Earthquakes can be particularly dangerous in parts of Italy where centuries-old buildings are left in disrepair. In 2002, a quake measuring 5.4 flattened a school in the southern Molise region, killing 27 children and a teacher.
Enzo Boschi, head of the National Institute of Geophysics, said Tuesday’s main quake appeared to be “nothing catastrophic”.
The U.S. Geological Survey gave higher estimates for the scale of the earthquakes, putting the magnitude of the first one at 5.3 and the second at 5.2.
It said the first earthquake struck at a depth of 28.9 km, while the second was at a more shallow 17 km.
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