Italy quake: Strong tremor felt as far as Rome

Central Italy has been hit by the strongest shock since the 30 October earthquake that brought down buildings in several towns and villages.

The 4.8-magnitude tremor was centred on a mountainous area not far from the villages hit in Sunday's quake and was felt in the cities of Perugia and Ancona and some parts of Rome.

There were no reports of casualties but more buildings have collapsed.

One local mayor complained "everything appears razed to the ground".

"Everything here that was standing is collapsing and what hasn't collapsed is unsafe," said Mauro Falcucci, whose town of Castelsantangelo sul Nera was among the worst hit on Sunday.

More than 1,100 shocks have been recorded since Sunday and another mayor said it was like an ordeal that never ended.

Prime Minister Matteo Renzi visited the village of Preci on Tuesday and said there was no magic wand to rebuild shattered communities. "It will take time, but we'll do it," he promised.

More than 30,000 residents have been left homeless by Sunday's quake, Italy's most powerful since 1980. No-one was killed but 20 people were injured in the 6.6-magnitude quake.

An earlier quake on 24 August claimed 298 lives and Mr Renzi said earlier it was an "enormous relief" that no-one had died this time.

Why multiple earthquakes are hitting Italy

Why did no-one die?

Residents' tough choice: To stay or to go

In Castelsantangelo, the mayor said the whole population had now been persuaded to leave. Only five farmers remained to look after their livestock.

An aerial view showed the damage wrought by Sunday's quake in the village of Castelluccio

Italy's main farming union, Coldiretti, warned on Tuesday that 3,000 farms in the quake-hit area needed urgent help and many animals were in danger of starving.

A short distance to the north-west of Castelsantangelo, in the village of Visso, the mayor said the new shock was strongly felt locally and engineers were checking to see if there had been further damage.

In Norcia, where some locals have refused to leave, tents have begun to arrive. The authorities have promised better shelter by Christmas. However, night-time temperatures in the mountainous region are already dropping close to freezing-point.

The medieval basilica of St Benedict in Norcia was among many historic buildings destroyed on Sunday.

On Tuesday, the fire brigade released footage of two dramatic rescues in the area. A young man was airlifted to safety after falling into a ravine and a dog was pulled from the rubble of a building in Norcia.

Further details also emerged of the damage done to buildings as far away as Rome. Some 6,000 incidents of cracks appearing in buildings were reported and around 150 buildings were believed to have been seriously damaged.

Fifteen hundred schools were closed on Monday as a precaution and the entire staff of the environment ministry had to leave the building because of cracks to the building.

Firemen rescued artworks from the church of San Lorenzo Martire in Norcia on Tuesday

Italy's most violent earthquakes since 1900

• October 2016 - Norcia, central Italy, magnitude 6.6, no deaths reported so far

• November 1980 - Campania, southern Italy (Naples badly hit), magnitude 6.9, up to 5,000 killed

• July 1930 - Irpinia, Campania, magnitude 6.6, 1,400 killed

• January 1915 - Avezzano, magnitude 6.7, more than 30,000 killed

• December 1908 - Strait of Messina, magnitude 7.1, up to 200,000 killed by earthquake and tsunami

• September 1905 - Calabria, magnitude 7.2, up to 2,500 killed by tsunami