Snow-bound central Italy struck by series of quakes

PanARMENIAN.Net - Central Italy has been struck by a series of earthquakes, as the region shivers in freezing temperatures, BBC News reports.

The biggest quake was 5.4 in magnitude and struck an area devastated by earthquakes in August.

They hit between 10:25 (9:25 GMT) and 11:25 and were felt in Rome, 100km (60 miles) to the south-west.

Almost 300 people died in the mountainous region around Amatrice last year. There are no reports so far of any injuries in the latest quakes.

The latest tremors mainly affected three neighbouring regions - Abruzzo, Lazio and Marche.

They follow some 36 hours of steady snowfall in areas around Amatrice and Norcia, towns close to the epicentre.

Schools that were not already closed in the worst-hit areas were evacuated. Rome's underground system was shut as a safety precaution.

"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, told Reuters news agency.

"This is totally unnerving. It's never ending. We are all shaking."

Italian politician Antonio Tajani, who was elected president of the European Parliament on Tuesday, January 17 said it "appears there are no victims".