The quake hit the same central regions that have been rocked by repeated tremors over the past two months. Although it was bigger than an Aug. 24 earthquake that killed almost 300 people, no-one died on Sunday, but there was huge damage. Weakened by repeated powerful jolts in recent weeks, many of Norcia's churches, monasteries and chapels were wrecked. The nuns of the Poor Clares are normally cloistered and only leave the monastery in an emergency. The 13 monks had been forced to abandon their monastery and their small commercial brewery following the previous tremors.

Source: Standard Digital October 31, 2016 11:53 UTC