The central region of Italy was hit by two strong earthquakes measuring 5.5 and 6.1 on the Richter scale about two months after the 6.2 tremor that flattened three towns.
No deaths were reported from the quake on Wednesday even though about 2,000 to 3,000 people were displaced after the shocks that heavily damaged the buildings. One 73-year-old man died of heart attack, which is thought to be related to the quake.
The first tremor, which hit at about 7 pm local time, led many people to abandon their homes. For this reason when the second one occurred at around 9 pm, not many people were inside the buildings.
"Given the strength of the shocks the absence of any deaths or serious injuries, which we hope will be confirmed, is miraculous," said Interior Minister Angelino Alfano.
Both tremors were shallow and centered at around 6 miles below the surface. The first one was centered 5.5 miles from the town of Visso, and the second about 2 miles from it.
The tremors were about 50 miles north of the epicenter of the devastating quakes which killed about 270 people in Amatrice and its surrounding towns.
Rescue workers worked through the day to gauge the damage from the earthquake. Several buildings had collapsed in towns of Le Marche and Umbria.
About 200 aftershocks were reported through the night, and the damage assessment was hindered by heavy rains.
Houses in Campi, another town affected by the quake, were without power which hampered first responders from conducting checks on the residences during the night.
The area was struck by another quake measuring 4.5 on the Richter scale on Thursday morning.
Hundreds of people spent the night in emergency shelters, even though about 800 people did not receive the facility. Most of them spent the night in their cars.
