Gone in 16 seconds: The devastating moment a 700-year-old church crumbles into dust as two immense earthquakes bring fresh heartache to Italy

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The moment a historic church crumbled to the ground after two powerful earthquakes rocked central Italy on Wednesday has been captured by TV news cameras.

A crew for Italian state broadcaster RAI were standing in front of a late 14th century church, San Salvatore a Campi di Norcia, when its rose-windowed facade was reduced to rubble. The crew was forced to run for safety as clouds of dust engulfed its cameras. 

The earthquakes devastated many historic buildings and left thousands homeless, two months after a quake that killed nearly 300 people hit the same region. 

The first tremor measuring 5.4 on the Richter scale came at 7.10pm local time on Wednesday, near Visso in Macerata province.

The second quake, measuring 6.1, came two hours later, wiping out buildings and plunging homes into darkness. It was felt as far away as Venice in the far north, Naples in the south and the capital, Rome, where historic buildings are reported to have shaken, 80 miles away from the epicentre near Perugia.

On August 24, a 6.2-magnitude quake struck just 45 miles away from Wednesday's quake. The latest two were probably a result of August's seismic break, Massimiliano Cocco from Italy's National Institute of Geophysics and Vulcanology said. 

'It's never ending. These damned earthquakes won't leave us alone!,' restaurateur Linda Cappa said as she handed out pastries, hot coffee and juice to the traumatised residents of Ussita, close to the quake's epicentre, in the early hours of the morning.  

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This picture shows the late 14th century San Salvatore church in the town of Campi di Norcia after it was destroyed by the earthquakes on Wednesday

The historic church collapsed in front of TV news cameras on Wednesday night. The devastation can be seen on Thursday morning 

The devastating moment the church crumbled to the ground was captured by Italian state broadcaster RAI (left and right)

This is what the late 14th century church looked like before it was reduced to rubble on Wednesday evening 

Elderly villager Bruno recounted how he had headed straight for his car as soon as the first one struck. Experience had told him he had to get out of his house.

'The second one was much, much stronger than the first,' he said. 'It seemed like it was going to go on for ever.

'I thought my car was going to be turned over. It's a disaster. What on earth is going on under our feet?' 

Dozens of people sustained minor injuries but no one is believed to have died. 'Given the strength of the shocks the absence of any deaths or serious injuries, which we hope will be confirmed, is miraculous,' Interior Minister Angelino Alfano said.

The national civil protection agency described the damage as 'very significant' but said they were not aware of anyone trapped under rubble. 

A painting is seen in a collapsed church after an earthquake in the village Borgo Sant'Antonio near Visso, central Italy

In Camerino, in the Marche Region of central Italy, an entire building on the corner of a street was left in ruins

A firefighter with a rescue dog searches a collapsed building for anyone trapped under rubble in Borgo Sant'Antonio near Visso

A house was completely destroyed in the small town of Visso in central Italy. Panicked residents ran into the rain-drenched streets just two months after a powerful earthquake killed nearly 300 people just 50 miles away

A firefighter looks at a damaged house in the small town of Visso on Thursday as thousands were left homeless

Interior Minister Angelino Alfano said that a decree now being voted on by parliament to pay for the immediate costs of the August tremor could be extended to cover the latest series of quakes. 

Thousands of people ran out into the streets screaming after the first tremor. The fact that the first earthquake was weaker than the second probably helped save lives because most people had already left their homes, Interior Minister Angelino Alfano said on state radio.

Authorities began surveying the quake-stricken zone at daybreak as a series of small aftershocks continue to shake the mountainous region.

Bad weather hammered the area on Wednesday and there are now fears the torrential rain and unstable ground could lead to devastating landslides.  

Visso is about 45 miles north of Amatrice where around 270 were killed on August 24 when a 6.2-magnitude quake struck. 

La Repubblica reports the quakes have caused Amatrice's City Hall to completely collapse after it previously managed to withstand August's disaster. 

Visso is also not far from L'Aquila where a powerful earthquake killed more than 300 in 2009.  

Dust cascades out of a collapsed building in the village of Borgo Sant'Antonio, central Italy, on Thursday, as buildings continue to collapse 

A photographer walks among debris from the Church of St. Antony, dating back to the 14th century, in the small town of Visso

The fact that the first earthquake was weaker than the second probably helped save lives because most people had already left their homes, Interior Minister Angelino Alfano said

Firefighters with a search dog look up as they pass by the cross that fell from the facade of the Church of Santa Maria, a gothic church dating back to 1200, in the small town of Visso

Outside a restaurant in Visso, rubble has fallen directly where customers would have been sat if they had of been dining 

A damaged wall along a historic church is seen in Norcia, central Italy, on Thursday morning as the full extent of the destruction began to be assessed 

Sport equipment is seen still piled high despite the store front collapsing around it in Visso

A building in Visso, central Italy, is pictured on Thursday, damaged by the two earthquakes that rocked the town on Wednesday night

A video from local newspaper La Repubblica shows how a road has cracked and risen by 20 centimeters 

Just outside of the village of Visso, a fallen bolder caused a road to be closed on Thursday 

A firefighter looks at a collapsed building that is blocking a road in Borgo Sant'Antonio near Visso, central Italy

Italy's national volcanology center said two smaller quakes registered magnitudes above 4 before dawn Thursday, centered near Macerata in the Marche region, while dozens of smaller ones were recorded in the area overnight.

Many residents of Campi, a town of about 200, slept in their cars as aftershocks rocked the Umbria, Marche and Lazio regions throughout the night.

'I can't shake off the fear,' said Mauro Viola, 64, who said he had not sleep and had spent the night outside.

Police had blocked off the road to his home with a park bench, and Viola said a chapel beyond his house had collapsed. 

Rescue workers set up some 50 beds in a quake-proof building for people who could not sleep in their homes.

'The first tremor damaged buildings, with the second one we had collapses,' fire department official, Rosario Meduri, said.

He had come from southern Italy before Wednesday's tremors to help secure structures damaged by the August earthquake that hit to the south.

While massive boulders that tumbled down the valley had yet to be cleared from the roads, on the whole there was a sense of relief.  

The head of Italy's civil protection agency, Fabrizio Curcio, said so far they had only heard of one fatality - a 73-year-old man who died of a heart attack. 

He said some people were treated for slight injuries at hospitals in the regions of Umbria and Le Marche.

Mr Curcio said: 'All told, the information so far is that it's not as catastrophic.'    

Two women are pictured carrying their belongings in Visso after being allowed back to collect some clothes 

While one home withstood the quake, firefighters inspect a collapsed building to the side of it after the earthquake hit the small village of Borgo Sant'Antonio near Visso

A bedroom was left in open air in a severely damaged house in the small town of Visso. Thankfully many residents had already run out of their homes when the second deadly quake struck 

As daylight broke firefighters began to assess the damage caused by the tremors 

A damaged building frames more ancient towers that survived the quake in Visso in central Italy

A  man with an umbrella surveys a damaged square in Visso after panicked residents ran into the rain-drenched streets

A cross fallen from a historic building due to the earthquakes, lies on the ground, in the town of Visso

A collapsed building is seen next to a petrol station on Thursday morning after the earthquake in Visso

An elderly man is helped to safety after his house was damaged by the earthquake (pictured, left). The quakes have caused considerable damage but there is no word yet on the death toll

Evacuated people spend the night in a bus hangar used as a temporary shelter, in Camerino, Marche Region

People gather to sleep in a secured area after the earthquakes in the village of Visso

A child sleeps in a temporary bed after his home was rocked by the quake on Wednesday

Italian army soldiers carry supplies for the terrified residents displaced from their homes by the earthquake in Visso

In the village of Borgo Sant'Antonio near Visso, central Italy, a building collapsed into rubble 

'THE UNENDING NIGHTMARE': HOW MAJOR EARTHQUAKES HAVE PLAGUED ITALY

- Dec 28, 1908 - More than 82,000 people are killed in a 7.2 magnitude earthquake which reduces Sicily's second largest city Messina to rubble and damages the city of Reggio Calabria across the straits on the mainland.

- Jan 13, 1915 - Some 32,600 are killed when an earthquake measuring 7.0 strikes Avezzano in central Italy.

- July 27, 1930 - A quake measuring 6.5 strikes the region of Irpinia in southern Italy, killing around 1,400 people.

- May 6, 1976 - An earthquake measuring 6.5 rocks Friuli in Italy's northeastern corner, killing 976 people and leaving 70,000 others homeless.

- Nov. 23, 1980 - Some 2,735 people are killed and more than 7,500 injured in an earthquake measuring 6.5. The epicentre was at Eboli but damage was reported over a huge area towards Naples.

- Dec. 13, 1990 - Earthquake centred in the sea off Sicily kills 13 people and injures 200.

- Sept. 26, 1997 - Two earthquakes measuring 6.4 kill 11 people and cause serious damage to the Basilica of St Francis in Assisi, damaging priceless Medieval frescoes.

An aerial view shows the damaged buildings in the historical part of the town of Amatrice, central Italy, after an earthquake, on Wednesday, August 24, 2016

A man is pulled out of the rubble following the earthquake in Amatrice on Wednesday, August 24, 2016. The magnitude 6 quake struck at 3:36 a.m

- July 17, 2001 - Earthquake measuring 5.2 shakes the northern Italian region of Alto Adige, killing one woman.

- Oct. 31, 2002 - An earthquake measuring 5.9 hits Campobasso, south-central Italy, killing 30 people, most of them children, in San Giuliano di Puglia.

- April 6, 2009 - A powerful earthquake strikes the Abruzzo area east of Rome. It kills more than 300 people and devastates the 13th century city of L'Aquila.

- May 29, 2012 - More than 16 people are killed and 350 injured in the second big earthquake to hit the area around Modena in northern Italy. An earlier quake nine days earlier killed nearly 10 people.

- Aug 24, 2016 - A devastating earthquake brought down buildings in mountainous central Italy early, killing almost 300 people and leaving thousands homeless. One of the worst hit towns was Amatrice. The disaster caused an estimated four billion euros ($4.5 billion) of damage, with 1,400 people still living in temporary accommodation. 

But the Mayor of the town of Ussita, Marco Rinaldi, said on Wednesday: 'It was a very strong earthquake, apocalyptic. People are screaming on the street and now we are without lights.

'Many houses have collapsed. Our town is finished.' 

Rinaldi said: 'The second quake was a long, terrible one.'

'I've felt a lot of earthquakes but that was the strongest I've ever felt. Fortunately everyone had already left their homes after the first quake so I don't think anyone was hurt,' Rinaldi said.  

Italian television channels broadcast images of collapsed buildings and people standing dazed in front of their ruined houses.

Across the region, hospitals, a university residence, a retirement home and even a prison had to be evacuated.

'Tonight we're going to go. But tomorrow I don't know. The tents, I can't go there, it's too cold,' a resident of Visso said on television.

For people who are unable to return home immediately, civil protection has arranged accommodation in gyms and prepared to reopen some of the tent camps which were set up after the August earthquake.

The president of Umbria region, Catiuscia Marini, told RAI state television that officials are scrambling to come up with temporary housing. 

'I want to thank those working in the rain in the earthquake zones. All of Italy is wrapping its arms around the communities that have been hit once again,' Prime Minister Matteo Renzi tweeted.

In Rome, the quakes rattled windows and doors. The imposing foreign ministry headquarters was temporarily evacuated. 

The Church of San Sebastiano stands amid damaged houses in Castelsantangelo sul Nera. It is not clear if there have been fatalities

An elderly woman spends the night in a car in Ussita, Marche Region, central Italy, after residents ran out of their homes in fear

What appears to be a restaurant has been crushed by falling rubble in the village of Visso, central Italy

A Halloween dummy rests on a wall in the town of Visso in central Italy, early Thursday, after the two earthquakes

A man covers himself with a blanket after an earthquake in Visso, central Italy, caused homes to be rocked in the night

A pair of powerful aftershocks pulverised the village of Visso (pictured). All power has been lost and people are having to use candles and torches to sort through the rubble

Rescuers stand by rubble in the village of Visso following a series of earthquakes. The tremors knocked out power, closing a major highway and sending panicked residents into the rain-drenched streets

The mayor of Serravalle del Chienti, Gabriele Santamarianova, said the quake felt 'like bombs were falling'.

'We saw a cloud of dust, we don't yet know what has fallen down. We'll see once the sun comes up.' 

The epicenter of both tremors was registered in the Valnerina valley, a mountainous area between the cities of Macerata and Perugia, the capital of the Umbria region, about 180 kilometers (110 miles) from the Stadio Adriatico. 

US Geological Survey seismologist Paul Earle said of the area: 'They have a lot of old buildings that weren't constructed at a time with modern seismic (building) codes.'

One Twitter user in Italy, Sofia, wrote: 'I'm so scared of these earthquakes don't think i'll sleep tonight #Terremoto.'   

The mayor of nearby Castel Santangelo Sul Nera, Mauro Falcucci, said last night: 'We're without power, waiting for emergency crews. We can't see anything. It's tough. Really tough.'

He said some buildings had collapsed but there were no immediate reports of any fatalities. But he said the darkness, and heavy rain, were impeding the search. 

Rescuers gather in the village of Visso after pair of powerful aftershocks shook central Italy last night, not far from the area where a quake killed 300 in August

The epicentre of the first earthquake was Castel Santangelo Sul Nera, near Perugia, but two more powerful aftershocks hit the area, one of them centred on Visso

A car belonging to the Italian TV station RAI (pictured, left) which is believed to have been responding to the first quake was damaged by the second tremor in Castel Santangelo sul Nera (right)

A section of motorway north of Rome was closed due to a landslide, said Ornella De Luca, from Italy's civil protection agency.

Italy's National Vulcanology Centre said the epicentre was in Castel Santangelo Sul Nera, 50 miles from Perugia in the central spine of Italy, which has traditionally been prone to quakes, known in Italian as terremoto.

A Facebook post from the town said: 'One of the worst-affected municipalities, numerous collapses, all the people currently in the street (about 300 people).'

Arcangelo Vicedomini, a software developer in Nettuno, near Rome, tweeted: 'Earthquake in Italy, 5.6 Richter, epicenter 66 km south of Perugia. In it was feeled well. In Nettuno chandeliers are dancing [sic].'  

Vanda Wilcox tweeted: 'Another big earthquake. Epicentre near Perugia, made the house shake hugely here, frightened us enough to get baby up & go out #Terremoto.' 

But the US Geological Survey said the quakes had a depth of only seven miles, which is relatively shallow. 

A match between Pescara and Atalanta in Serie A was halted for four minutes when the second earthquake hit, causing panic as the stands shook for more than 10 seconds. 

Many spectators left the Stadio Adriatico in Pescara but the game resumed and the visitors went on to win 1-0.

Pescara defender Hugo Campagnaro said: 'At the time we didn't realise anything, because we were moving. Then, once we heard the fans shouting and saw people leaving, we understood.'

Atalanta's Mattia Caldara said: 'We didn't feel anything on the pitch. But my teammates told me that the substitutes' bench shook.'

In their first editions Thursday morning, several Italian newspapers headlined 'The unending nightmare'.

August's disaster caused an estimated four billion euros ($4.5 billion) of damage, with 1,400 people still living in temporary accommodation.

People walk past a destroyed building in the village of Borgo Sant'Antonio near Visso. The second quake was felt as far away as Venice and Naples

There is no doubt that buildings in villages like Castel Santangelo Sul Nera have been badly damaged (pictured, left and right) but it is too early to say if there have been significant casualties

The Church of San Sebastian in Castel Santangelo sul Nera is badly damaged (pictured)

Rescuers stand by rubble in the village of Visso, central Italy, on Wednesday night

Darkness and heavy rain are hampering the search for injured people in the village of Castel Santangelo Sul Nera (pictured)