- Title: Spate of strong earthquakes hit snowbound central Italy, one dead
- Date: 18th January 2017
- Summary: MONTEREALE, ITALY (JANUARY 18, 2017) (REUTERS) SNOW COVERED STREETS IN MONTEREALE, ITALY WINDOWS COVERED IN ICE TAPE CORDON AROUND EARTHQUAKE DAMAGED BUILDING DOG WALKING IN STREET FILLED WITH SNOW DESERTED STREET VARIOUS OF CRACKS AND PLASTER DAMAGE ON WALL OF HOUSE NATIONAL GENDARMERIE OF ITALY DRIVING THROUGH TOWN'S CENTRE VARIOUS OF RELIGIOUS STATUES COVERED IN SNOW AND ICE ITALIAN FLAG FLYING FIRE BRIGADE VEHICLE DRIVING THROUGH SNOW VARIOUS OF WOMAN ON ROAD HOLDING DUVET AND BLANKETS (SOUNDBITE) (Italian) RESIDENT OF MONTEREALE, VIOREL LEPADATU, SAYING: ''There is very heavy snow. This is the problem. It's very cold. We cannot sleep at home tonight, because we are afraid (of the earthquake) but, outside, in the car or in a tent, it's very cold and snowy.'' (SOUNDBITE) (Italian) MAYOR OF MONTEREALE, MASSIMILIANO GIORGI, SAYING: ''Since 2009 we have had this problem. Every time we raise our head again a new (seismic) event occurs. Unfortunately we have to live with this problem and we have to try to keep going.'' AMBULANCE CAR COMPLETELY COVERED IN SNOW MONTEREALE MAIN ROAD, DAMAGE TO GLASS VARIOUS OF DESERTED ROADS COVERED IN SNOW
- Embargoed: 1st February 2017 21:04
- Keywords: Earthquake Montereale snow epicentre Italy
- Location: MONTEREALE, ITALY
- City: MONTEREALE, ITALY
- Country: Italy
- Topics: Disaster/Accidents,Earthquakes/Volcanoes/Tsunami
- Reuters ID: LVA0015ZM1007
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: A series of strong earthquakes hit snowbound central Italy on Wednesday (January 18), a region devastated by deadly tremors last year, killing one man and forcing schools and rail links to close.
Four quakes of magnitude 5.2 and higher struck near the hill town of Amatrice, some 100 km (60 miles) northeast of Rome, in the space of four hours. Much of the area had already been abandoned after last year's earthquakes.
Residents in Montereale, one of the villages closest to the epicentre, had to cope with an unusually heavy snow storm as well as with the fear of more shocks.
''There is very heavy snow. This is the problem. It's very cold. We cannot sleep at home tonight, because we are afraid (of the earthquake) but, outside, in the car or in a tent, it's very cold and snowy,'' said Viorel Lepadatu, a Romanian citizen who lives in Montereale.
''Since 2009 we have had this problem. Every time we rise our head again a new (seismic) event occurs. Unfortunately we have to live with this problem and we have to try to keep going,'' said Massimiliano Giorgi, the mayor of the village.
Montereale was flattened by an earthquake in 1703 and was heavily damaged in the L'Aquila quake of 2009.
The central Lazio, Marche and Abruzzo regions have also been grappling with heavy snowfall, 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.
A woman and her baby son were pulled out from rubble, suffering from hypothermia, in the small town of Castiglione Messer Raimondo, the fire service said.
A helicopter that scrambled to take them to hospital ran into difficulty and they had to be transported by road.
In Rome, buildings wobbled and the underground metro system was shut for several hours. Schoolchildren were sent home, and museums told visitors to leave. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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