Wave of strong earthquakes shake snowbound central Italy, one dead

One man died on Wednesday in a series of strong earthquakes which hit central Italy, while heavy snow raised fears for the safety of others in the region.

Four quakes of magnitude 5.2 and higher struck near the hill town of Amatrice, about 100 km northeast of Rome, in the space of four hours.

Much of the area had already been abandoned after last August’s earthquakes that left nearly 300 people dead.

Monitors put its strength at between 5.1 and 5.3 magnitude. A second, 50 minutes later, was measured at 5.7 by the European Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) and 5.4 by Italy's INGV. Both monitors noted the third, minutes later, at 5.3, and one of more than 100 major aftershocks was measured at 5.1 at 2.30 pm.

The tremors were felt powerfully across the Abruzzo, Lazio and Marche regions and clearly in Rome.

The central Lazio, Marche and Abruzzo regions have experienced heavy snowfall in recent days, and one man aged about 82 died after the snow and one of the tremors caused the roof of a farm building to fall on him, a fire service spokesman said.

His body was found under the debris of a building in the town of Castel Castagna, in the province of Teramo, local authorities said in a statement.

A hotel in Abruzzo was hit by an avalanche and local media reported three people were feared missing. There were 20 people plus staff at the hotel, regional president Luciano D'Alfonso wrote on Facebook.

Twenty firemen, two mountain rescue teams, six ambulances and local police were heading for the site, but weather conditions could cause delays to rescue teams, a civil protection agency spokesman said.

No other deaths or serious injuries were reported.

The quakes caused Rome's metro to be evacuated as a precaution, with some schools calling parents to pick up their children.
In Rieti, different schools were evacuated, and Ancona has suspended court hearings, La Stampa said.