Why is Italy hit by so many deadly earthquakes? What is it about the country that sees so much seismic activity?
ITALY is one of the most seismically active countries in Europe and has seen many devastating earthquakes.
A quake in Amatrice in August killed dozens and left others trapped under rubble in the devastated city.
The latest earthquake, in central Italy, struck with a magnitude of 5.3 on January 18 and was felt by people 69 miles away in Rome as schools and the Metro were evacuated.
Why does Italy have so many earthquakes?
Earthquakes result from weaknesses in the earth's crust, such as those that run all the way up the spine of Italy.
When these weaknesses fracture they trigger earthquakes.
Italy sits on the meeting point of the Eurasian Plate and African Plate, giant rock structures which make up part of the earth's shell.
The Alps mountain range is formed where these two plates push together, which they are still doing at a rate of 3cm a year.
Minor tremors are common in the country, but events such as August's magnitude 6.2 quake remain relatively rare.
What is an earthquake?
A earthquake is the shaking of the surface of the earth.
Quakes result from a sudden movement in the earth's crust, that creates seismic waves.
Earthquakes are most commonly caused by the fracture of the earth's rock crust, but have also been known to be triggered by events such as volcanic activity, landslides, mine blasts and nuclear tests.
On land quakes normally cause tremors, but if they occur at sea they can trigger a tsunami.
Earthquakes are measured by magnitude.
Quakes below magnitude three are generally not noticeable, and only those of five or above are usually reported globally.
A tremor of magnitude seven or higher has the potential to cause serious damage over a large area.
The largest earthquakes in historic times were slightly more than magnitude 9, but there is no limit to the possible magnitude.
When was the last major earthquake?
The last major earthquake to hit the country was in 2012. The magnitude 6 quake in Medolla killed 20 people.
In 2009 a magnitude 6.3 earthquake hit the medieval city of L'Aquila killing close to 300 people.
The site of the 2009 quake is just an hour's drive from the earthquake in Amatrice, in one of the most seismically active regions of the country.
The 2009 quake is believed to have been caused by huge rock faces jerking away from each other.
There have been 18 recorded earthquakes in Italy in the last decade, ranging from magnitude 4.6 to magnitude 6.3.
One of the most devastating was in 1908 when the Sicilian town of Messina was destroyed. Estimates suggest this quake could have killed up to 100,000 people.
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