15 killed in second Italy quake

May 29 2012

A powerful earthquake has killed at least 15 people and left 200 injured in northern Italy.

Factories, warehouses and churches collapsed, dealing another blow to a region where thousands are still homeless from a stronger quake just nine days ago.

The 5.8 magnitude quake drove thousands more from their homes in the Emilia Romagna region north of Bologna, one of Italy's most agriculturally and industrially productive areas.

A senior Italian official said at least seven people were missing and the number of homeless in the region has swelled to 14,000 people.

The 5.8 magnitude quake was felt from Piedmont in north-western Italy to Venice in the north-east and as far north as Austria. Dozens of aftershocks hit the area, some registering more than 5.0 in magnitude.

The quake terrified many of the thousands who have been living in tents or cars since the May 20 quake and created a whole new wave of homeless.

"I was shaving and I ran out very fast, half dressed," a resident of Sant'Agostino, one of the towns devastated in the quake earlier this month, said.

Tuesday's quake struck just after 9am with an epicentre 25 miles north-west of Bologna, according to the US Geological Survey - just a few miles away from where the 6.0-magnitude quake which killed seven people on May 20 was centred.

Government undersecretary Antonio Catricala, briefing the Senate in Rome, said at least 15 people were killed, some 200 injured and seven people missing. The number of homeless swelled by several thousand, to a total of 14,000, he said.

While Tuesday's quake was about 100 times less intense than the one on May 20, its death toll was more than twice as high. In both, the dead included workers killed by collapsing factories and warehouses.