Italy: Earthquake shook the island of Sicily, dozens of people were injured

A 4.6-magnitude earthquake (initial information of 4.8 degrees) occurred in the Catania region of Italy's island of Sicily on October 6, slightly injuring dozens of people and spoiling some buildings are located near the volcano Etna operating in this area.

Initial reports indicate that the earthquake occurred at 2:34 am on October 6 with the epicenter in the town of Santa Maria di Licodia at a depth of about 9 km.

The house was damaged after the earthquake.(Source: express.co.uk).

Dozens of slightly injured people were taken to hospital for treatment. Some old houses in the countryside collapsed and some churches of historical value were also damaged.

The earthquake was clearly felt throughout the Catania region as well as many nearby cities on the island of Sicily such as Syracuse, Enna and Messina.

However, a Catania Fire Service spokesman said the damage only happened to old houses. In total, the authorities have received 50 requests for help from the people so far due to material and housing losses.

Mayor of Biancavilla in Catania region, Mr. Antonio Bonanno called on calm people not to panic. He also said police and volunteer forces were now deployed on Biancavilla's streets to monitor the situation and were ready to support people.