Northern Italy shaken by aftershock

PanARMENIAN.Net - Northern Italy was shaken by an aftershock Monday, May 21 morning, a day after a magnitude-6.0 quake killed at least seven people and left thousands of survivors huddling in tents or cars overnight, CNN reported.

Monday morning's aftershock caused buildings to sway in the town of Finale Emilia, in Italy's industrial heartland. The tremor had a magnitude of 3.2 and hit near the site of the original quake, according to the Italian Seismic Service.

The head of Italy's Civil Protection Department, Franco Gabrielli, said 11,000 people had been displaced by the first quake around 4 am (10 pm Saturday ET) on Sunday morning.

The government put 3,000 people up in tents or hotels, but could not shelter everyone who was displaced.

Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti was expected to return from the NATO summit in Chicago on Monday.

Monti said Sunday he was leaving the conference early, vowing, "All that is necessary will be done as soon as possible" to help the survivors.

The quake was centered about 4 kilometers outside Camposanto, northwest of Bologna, the U.S. Geological Survey reported. In addition to the seven reported fatalities, 50 people were injured in the quake

The stricken region is part of Italy's industrial heartland, and the dead included two people killed in a ceramics factory in Sant'Agostino di Ferrara, about 30 kilometers from the epicenter, civil protection agency spokeswoman Elisabetta Maffani said.

Workers were still digging through rubble in hopes of finding survivors in Sant'Agostino, where the quake knocked down a church bell and a magnitude-4.8 aftershock brought down part of its city hall Sunday evening.