The first tremor, with a preliminary magnitude of 5.3, hit Montereale at about 10.25am (0925 GMT), according to the US Geological Survey. A second quake with a magnitude of 5.7 hit the same area about 50 minutes later, and 10 minutes later a third was measured at magnitude 5.3. The tower of one of Amatrice’s churches toppled in Wednesday’s quakes. Mayor Maurizio Pelosi of Capitagno, near the epicentre of Wednesday’s quakes, said even before the tremors many roads into and out of the town were blocked due to the snow. Giuseppe Di Felice, a hotel worker in town, told state-run RAI radio people couldn’t get out of their homes.

Source: The Guardian January 18, 2017 19:17 UTC