Military vehicles are bumper to bumper in snow-bound conditions in Central italy where earlier today multiple earthquakes struck the central region of the country. Few reports of damage or injury are getting out, but weather conditions are severe. The three quakes, one of which was 5.5kms west south west of Amatrice, the town that was devasted last year by another quake that killed over 200 people, came 50 minutes apart, followed ten minutes later by another and this was followed by yet another one in the region of 4 magnitude. The first three registered 5.7 and 5.3 which is enough to cause damage.
There have been days of steady snowfall in Central Italy and this is hampering search and rescue operations.
Military responding in heavy snow - watch the video.
Ruptly Tv has posted the video of the snow-bound conditions and the military trying to respond to the quake. They reported that "Military vehicles were spotted joining response efforts after a 5.3 magnitude earthquake struck the snow-covered Province of Teramo in central Italy, Wednesday, followed by two tremors of magnitude 5.7 and 5.3 within minutes of each other. The earthquakes come after 36 continuous hours of snowfall in the region."
As can be seen from the video the weather is foul and is not making a difficult task any easier.
So far there are no reports of widespread damage, but in this type of weather injuries and fatalities might yet be uncovered. According to the BBC who cited a Reuters source, Lina Mercantini, "It's very cold and windy." She was speaking from Ceselli in the Umbrian region, "about 80km from the epicentre area."
News is very slow to get out and response has been slow.
This might be due to the weather but people are getting angry and disgruntled at the lack of information and what is perceived to be a poor response time. This is indicated in at least one angry tweet.
#dallavostraparte @EU_Commission DO NOT FUND THE ITALIAN GOVERNMENT FOR THE EARTHQUAKE: THEY AREN'T DOING ANYTHING TO HELP THE POOR PEOPLE.
— Italianità (@ItalianitaMP) January 18, 2017
UK World News reported that quakes were felt as far away as Rome where the Metro was evacuated for safety reasons.
It seems that many people are shaken by this quake, but are even more concerned about how the bad weather might hold up necessary help across the region.
This earthquake news in Italy is a developing story. Check back on Blasting News for updates.