The earthquake in Italy happened in a region that is prone to such tremors.<br /><br /> Its epicentre is just 90 kilometres away from where a 2009 quake occured that killed more than 300 people.<br /><br /> “This part of the Appennines is area which for 30 to 40 years has seen a lot of seismic activity with a few earthquakes of this kind, such as the L’Aqulia quake in 2009, which was just as destructive.<br /><br /> The Appennines range is gradually falling apart. This causes deformation and that deformation manifests itself sometimes above ground, in the form of earthquakes,” said Thierry Camelbeeck, a seismologist at the Royal Observatory of Brussels.<br /><br /> The quake measured 6.2 on the richter scale, causing damage to a number of buildings across the region.<br /><br /> “Obviously buildings made from brick or stone that have not been built to resist seismic activity will be very vulnerable to earthquakes,” said Camelbeeck. <br /><br /> The main shock of Tuesday’s earthquake lasted only 10 seconds.<br />
