9 Pinoy families evacuated from quake-hit Italy town

Firefighters and rescuers carry a woman on a wheelchair after a 6.6 magnitude earthquake on October 30, 2016 in Norcia. It came four days after quakes of 5.5 and 6.1 magnitude hit the same area and nine weeks after nearly 300 people died in an August 24 quake that devastated the tourist town of Amatrice at the peak of the holiday season. Italy's most powerful earthquake in 36 years dealt a new blow Sunday to the country's seismically vulnerable heart, sending terrified residents fleeing for the third time in nine weeks and flattening a revered six-century-old church. / AFP PHOTO / Fabrizio Troccoli

Firefighters and rescuers carry a woman on a wheelchair after a 6.6 magnitude earthquake on October 30, 2016 in Norcia. It came four days after quakes of 5.5 and 6.1 magnitude hit the same area and nine weeks after nearly 300 people died in an August 24 quake that devastated the tourist town of Amatrice at the peak of the holiday season. / AFP PHOTO / Fabrizio Troccoli

Nine Filipino families were successfully evacuated from a town near the epicenter of the powerful 6.6 magnitude quake that shook Italy on Sunday, according to the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA).

DFA assistant secretary Charles Jose told INQUIRER.net that the Philippine Embassy in Rome evacuated 31 individuals from Norcia on Monday morning upon request.

“They are currently sheltered at the Casa Per Ferie Rogate in Rome. The Embassy arranged full board and lodging,” Jose said in a text message.

The DFA earlier confirmed that no Filipinos were hurt in the quake that ruined historical and religious structures and left about 3,000 temporarily homeless.

READ: No Filipino casualties in Italy quake, PH gov’t ready to help

It was the strongest quake to hit Italy in nearly 36 years, and third to hit the country in two months, following jolts last week and a destructive one in August that killed about 300 people. JE/rga

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