Italy Rattled by 'Apocalyptic' Quakes

"It was an unheard-of violence," the AP quotes Ussita mayor Marco Rinaldi as saying. "It was something terrible." Two earthquakes shook central Italy about two hours apart on Wednesday, causing mass panic but few injuries in an area where nearly 300 were killed during a quake in August, Reuters reports. The first earthquake Wednesday was a 5.4 magnitude; the second was a 6.1—or eight times stronger than the first. The fact that terrified people were still in the streets after the first quake probably saved lives when the stronger one hit. Buildings across the area were damaged or destroyed, power was lost, and hundreds of people will be sleeping in the streets overnight. Rinaldi calls Wednesday's quakes "apocalyptic" and believes his town is "finished." (More earthquake stories.)