Skip Nav Destination
BBC: Residents of Accumoli, Italy, and neighboring towns were awakened at 3:36 this morning local time when a magnitude 6.2 earthquake struck. The quake leveled many buildings not only in Accumoli, which was near the epicenter, but also in several neighboring towns, including Amatrice and Pescara del Tronto. At least 73 people have been reported killed, another 150 missing, and hundreds more injured. The area is known for earthquakes because it lies along a major fault line at the juncture of two tectonic plates, the African and Eurasian. In 2009 another town in the Apennines, L’Aquila, suffered a magnitude 6.3 quake, which killed hundreds of people and resulted in several scientists being charged with manslaughter for allegedly failing to adequately warn the public of the danger. Coincidentally, another earthquake, this one magnitude 6.8, struck today near Chauk, Myanmar.
![]()
Magnitude 6.2 earthquake strikes central Italy Free
24 August 2016