Strong earth tremor hits northern Italy

A strong earth tremor of 5.1 magnitude hit northern Italy late on Sunday, in the same area struck by two deadly quakes in the last two weeks, Italy's Geophysics Institute said.

The latest shock was centred on the town of Novi di Modena, in Emilia-Romagna, the region where the two previous quakes killed more than 20 people and forced more than 14,000 to move out of their homes.

The shock was clearly felt as far away as Milan, some 200 kms (125 miles) to the north. Italian media said the belltower of Novi di Modena had been destroyed and several buildings in nearby towns that had been damaged in the previous quakes collapsed, but none were inhabited and no casualties had been reported.