5.1 magnitude quake hits Italy

MILAN - No casualties were reported but some buildings collapsed in central-northern Italy as a magnitude-5.1 quake on Sunday evening shook the same area that was hit by two powerful fatal quakes on May 20 and 29.

The latest shake occurred at 9:20 pm local time and was centered in the town of Novi di Modena at a depth of 9.2 km, according to Italy's Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV).

The so-called "Clock Tower", a centuries-old building in the historical center of Novi di Modena, as well as other buildings that had been partially damaged by the previous quakes, totally collapsed.

Carlo Marchini, mayor of the nearby small town Concordia sulla Secchia, told Rai State television that fortunately there were no further dead nor injured people as all residents were already living inside city tents outside the historical center.

"I was in a city tent at the moment, and there were scenes of panic. But fortunately all homes had already been evacuated so no one was injured," he said. Yet, several people were reported to feel faint due to fright.

"The situation had slightly improved in the past few days, as no powerful shakes had been recorded, but tonight I saw panic-stricken people again. Every new quake is a blow to the heart," said Rudi Accorsi, mayor of another town in the area, San Possidonio.

"This is not life anymore. We are continuously feeling something moving under our feet, and we can just hope it will stop one day. It is just exhausting," a local resident told Sky channel.

At least 16,000 people in the hit-area have been out of their homes since May 20, when the first powerful quake of the long sequence that killed 24 people and injured hundreds others.

Local experts recommended to all residents not to get close to their homes as other shakes may occur in the next days. They also noted the epicenter was slightly moving towards northern Italy.

"We have registered hundreds of aftershocks in the past days, so this last shake although powerful can be considered as normal part of the sequence," a seismologist of INGV, Alessandro Amato, told Rai.

According to earlier reports, the 5.8-magnitude earthquake on Tuesday claimed 17 lives and the 6-magnitude quake on May 20 killed seven people.