Central Italy continued to
suffer aftershocks overnight following a series of devastating
recent earthquakes although the number registered was much lower
on Tuesday.
Around 30 tremors were registered between midnight and
7:00 on Tuesday, all under magnitude 3, compared to 90 in the
same period on Monday.
Locals had a scare on Monday evening when a
3.8-magnitude quake stuck in the already badly hit province of
Macerata in the Marche region.
The earthquake emergency started with an August 24,
6.0-magnitude quake that killed 298 people.
Two more quakes shook the area on October 26, one
measuring 5.4 in magnitude and the other 5.9.
A further 6.5-magnitude quake on October 30 near Norcia
was Italy's biggest since 1980 but killed no one, mainly because
so many people had already left their homes.
The quakes have caused extensive damage, razing villages
to the ground and destroying priceless artworks and Medieval
churches as well as the area's economy.
Mayors from quake-stricken communities told the Lower
House Monday they fear central government may abandon them.
Amatrice Mayor Sergio Pirozzi, who wore a borrowed
tricolor sash because he lost his in a devastating August 24
earthquake, told lawmakers he won't wear one with the Amatrice
crest until he is certain his town "will not be abandoned".
Aleandro Petrucci, the mayor of the stricken Marche village
of Arquata del Tronto, warned he also felt "neglected" after
three more tremors rocked central Italy in the last week of
October.
"There's not one person left in my municipality," said
Petrucci.
Interior Minister Angelino Alfano said the government's
attention "is, has been, and will continue to be" on the
quake-stricken communities.
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