Italy earthquakes rattle buildings and residents two months after disaster

The epicentre of both quakes was near the town of Visso, central Marche, where residents could be seen in television footage walking around dazed and inspecting major damage to property. In some cases, entire walls lay on the ground in heaps of rubble.

Ive felt a lot of earthquakes but that was the strongest Ive ever felt. Fortunately everyone had already left their homes after the first quake. so I dont think anyone was hurt, said.

Ussita, Visso, and a town called Castelsantangelo sul Nera were the most affected by the quakes.

Initially, experts believed that the tremors were technically aftershocks linked to the August quake. But on Thursday Mario Tozzi, from the national institute for environmental geology and geo-engineering, said the double-hit quake was a new earthquake.

What we do not know is whether it was a dormant section of the Amatrice fault or a parallel structure, a close cousin of this fault, Tozzi told AFP.

The quakes were typical for the region and would Tozzi said more aftershocks ought to be expected in coming months, though they should be getting weaker. He added, however, that one could not rule out another major quake in the near future.