Multiple earthquakes rock the same area of central Italy devastated by last year's tremors.
Multiple earthquakes have hit central Italy, measuring from 4.8 to 5.7 on the Richter scale, seismologists say.
Parts of the same region were devastated by a series of strong tremors in August, 2016.
The first of the ‘quakes hit just after 10.30 on Wednesday morning (January 18).
The epicentre is said to be in Montereale, l’Aquila province, around 90 kilometres north-east of Rome.
According to the US Geological Survey, each quake struck at a depth of around 10 kilometres.
They were felt in the areas of Lazio, Abruzzo and Marche.
There is no news yet of casualties or damage.
Eyewitnesses say the tremors were felt in Rome and people have been evacuated from schools and the metro system in the capital as a precaution.
In tweets
M5.3, M5.7 and M5.6 in 1hr in #Italy. They strike in Aquila area where there is a largesnow cover #Terremoto
— EMSC (@LastQuake) January 18, 2017
RT
LastQuake</a> : M5.4 <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/earthquake?src=hash">#earthquake</a> (<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/terremoto?src=hash">#terremoto</a>) strikes 111 km NE of <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Roma?src=hash">#Roma</a> (<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Italy?src=hash">#Italy</a>) 4 min ago… <a href="https://t.co/OqTs3r4ynp">https://t.co/OqTs3r4ynp</a> <a href="https://t.co/4rIQlkUUh9">pic.twitter.com/4rIQlkUUh9</a></p>— FractalQuake (
FractalQuake) January 18, 2017
Map of the testimonies received so far following the #earthquake M5.3 in Central Italy 41 min ago pic.twitter.com/bzZ4gxAC0K
— EMSC (@LastQuake) January 18, 2017
Earthquake in central Italy – Quake felt in Lazio, Abruzzo, Marche https://t.co/ejXTfIe5X5
— Ansa English News (@ansa_english) January 18, 2017
Quake shakes central Italy, felt in Rome https://t.co/LqbF7BnQyU
— SBS News (@SBSNews) January 18, 2017
Closely monitoring new #Italy earthquake. Our 24/7 Emergency Centre is in contact with IT civil protection. EU stands ready to help.
— Christos Stylianides (@StylianidesEU) January 18, 2017