Italy earthquakes: Strong tremors shake central region

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Two strong earthquakes have hit central Italy, damaging buildings and sending scared residents into the streets.

A 5.5-magnitude quake struck at 1910 local time (1710 GMT) near Visso in Macerata province, officials said.

It was followed two hours later by a 6.1 magnitude tremor in the same area. Two people were injured but there were no immediate reports of deaths.

The quakes come two months after a powerful earthquake struck slightly to the south, killing 295 people.

The 6.2 magnitude quake, on 24 August, toppled buildings in villages in the mountainous region around Amatrice.

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Amatrice is just 60km (35 miles) away from the epicentre of Wednesday's first earthquake.

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Image captionOlder buildings are reported to have collapsed in several villages

The earthquakes were felt across central Italy, including in the capital, Rome, where buildings shook and doors and windows rattled.

The BBC's Katya Adler, in Rome, says that emergency services in the affected areas are still assessing the situation.

The second earthquake was considerably stronger than the first. One witness told Italian TV he saw part of a building collapse in front of him.

Two people were injured in the Visso area, Italy's civil protection chief Fabrizio Curcio said, but otherwise there were no other immediate reports of casualties.

There are also reports of downed power lines, damage to historic buildings and a landslide on a main road north of Rome.

"It was a very strong earthquake, apocalyptic," Marco Rinaldi, mayor of Ussita to the east of Visso, told Italy's Ansa news agency, referring to the second earthquake.

"People are screaming on the street and now we are without lights."

Image copyrightAP

Image captionTwo months ago Amatrice was devastated by an earthquake

Schools in the region will remain closed on Thursday, our correspondent reports.

Prime Minister Matteo Renzi is on his way to Rome, local media (in Italian) say.

The first earthquake, 7km south-southwest of Visso, was relatively shallow, at a depth of 9km (nearly six miles).

The second, at 2118 local time, was 2km north-northwest of Visso, at a depth of 10km.

These tremors were linked to the August earthquake, Italian officials said.

"Aftershocks can last for a long time, sometimes for months," AFP news agency quoted Mario Tozzi of Italy's National Institute of Geophysics as saying.