Italy earthquake: 6.6 magnitude shock felt in Rome

Emergency workers are racing to determine if any people have been killed or injured in the 6.6 magnitude earthquake, the Associated Press reports.
The quake was centered in a mountainous area straddling the central Italy regions of Umbria and Marche.
The head of the civil protection authority in the Marche region, Cesare Spuri, says there have been reports of buildings collapsing in many cities.

What we know so far

• An 6.6 magnitude earthquake has struck central Italy.
• The European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre put the epicentre 132 kilometres northeast of Rome and 67 kilometres east of Perugia, near the epicentre of quakes that hit the region last week.
• There are no immediate reports of casualties, and the quake hit some areas already evacuated following earlier tremors, but the damage to buildings is believed to be extensive.
• The earthquake toppled Norcia’s Basilica of St Benedict and is believed to have flattened large parts of Arquata del Tronto and Ussita.
• The quake was felt strongly in Rome, where authorities suspended the Metro, and also over the border in Croatia and Slovenia.