The first double earthquake hit central Italy three weeks ago, killing 11 people and damaging medieval frescoes at Assisi, where thousands of homes have been evacuated. There have since been more than 2,000 tremors, six of them measuring more than four on the Richter scale. The epicentre of yesterday's tremor was also at Sellano, where the town centre has been almost completely destroyed. Rescue workers salvaged 12th-century archives from the town hall. Thousands of residents of Umbria and the Marche are living under canvas or in prefabricated homes.
Seismologists remain baffled by the continuing tremors.
Vulcanologists from the Etna and Vesuvius areas have been called in to see if they can throw any light on the phenomenon. Many Italians believe Nostradamus predicted a third, apocalyptic earthquake today. Psychologists said pre-millennial fears were becoming widespread. The continuing quakes were giving rise to a national psychosis. Two psychologists from the University of Padua, Roberto Marino and Carlo Heinrich, said people in the quake zone suffered from psychological disorders, including loss of libido.