Initial reports on the magnitude of the tremors varied – while USGS and Italian media first talked of a 7.1 earthquake, the European-Mediterranean Seismological Center (EMSC) said the tremor was magnitude 6.5 or 6.6.
The National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV) later estimated the quake as magnitude 6.1. There were no immediate reports on damage or casualties caused by the quake. However, local RAI TV reports that the tremor was powerful enough to wake the residents of the capital Rome, who reported walls of buildings shaking.
The USGS says the quake was centered 68 km (42 miles) east-southeast of the city of Perugia and 132 kilometers northeast of Rome. The epicenter lay some 108 kilometers deep.
Italians who live in the areas affected by the quake rushed to the web, posting videos of shaking furniture inside their homes. According to those on Twitter, tremors were felt in Rome, Perugia, Rimini, Abruzzo and even Naples.