MILAN: A magnitude 5.2 earthquake was felt across central and northern Italy yesterday midday, prompting many schools to evacuate, but there were no immediate reports of injuries or serious damage but no immediate reports of casualties.
Italy’s Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology said the quake occurred at 12:33 p.m. (1033 GMT) in a mountainous region near the Tuscan coast between the provinces of Massa e Carrara and Lucca. The epicenter was between the towns of Massa and Lucca in Tuscany and La Spezia in the Liguria region, the national geophysics institute said.
Mayor Riccardo Ballerini of Lunigiana, near the epicenter, told Sky TG 24 that some buildings in his town had sustained damage, including collapsed walls, but that there were no reports of injuries. The state railway shut down some local lines to check for damage.
The quake, which struck at a depth of five km (three miles), was felt as far away as Milan, Verona and Florence, a radius of more than 160 km (100 miles).
Television footage showed an interior begin to shake as Josefa Idem, Italy’s equal opportunity and sports minister, was speaking at the Reggio Emilia city hall, some 70 km away (40 miles). The event was halted and the building evacuated.
The news agency ANSA said many people in the town of Carrara near the epicenter left their houses in fear, but that there were no immediate signs of damage.
It was felt in Milan, the largest city in northern Italy, and as far north as the Friuli region near the border with Slovenia.
The last major earthquake to hit Italy struck in May, 2012 in the central Emilia-Romagna region. That quake measured 6.0 magnitude and killed more than 20 people, destroyed historic buildings and caused widespread damage to local industries.
5.2 quake hits across northern Italy
