4.9 magnitude earthquake creates panic in Central Italy

February 16, 2013 – ITALY – A 4.9 magnitude spooking quake hit central Italy late Saturday, shaking apartment buildings in the center of Rome, and citizens in the region of Abruzzo, struck by a killer quake in 2009. The earthquake hit Frosinone, between the capital and the southern city of Naples, at a depth of 10.7 kilometers according to Italy’s Geophysics Institute. No injuries or damage to buildings were reported. The tremor sparked panicked calls in the Abruzzo region to the emergency services. The medieval town of L’Aquila was hit in 2009 by a 6.3-magnitude quake which killed 309 people, and ruined buildings still scar the landscape. Inhabitants in villages in the national park in Abruzzo raced out of their houses in panic, according to Italian media reports. Earlier on Saturday, three Italian builders and a technician were found guilty of multiple manslaughter after a dormitory they had restored and safety approved collapsed during the L’Aquila quake, killing eight students. –News