Earthquake measuring 5 jolts south Italy

An earthquake measuring 5.0 on the Richter scale jolted the southern Italian region of Calabria on Saturday, but no damages have been reported so far, local media said. The tremor occurred at 12:24 a.m. local time (1024 GMT) in the region with a depth of 65.7 km, according to the Rome-based National Institute of Geophysics and Vulcanology (INGV). The tremor triggered panic with crowds of people gathering on the streets. In Catanzaro and Vibo Valentia, two major cities of the region, and schools were evacuated. Local experts said the earthquake occurred at a considerable depth that has prevented major damages. Some 58 percent of the Italian territory and 40 percent of the country's population are at continuous seismic risk, according to seismologists. In 2012, two major tremors caused 26 deaths in northern Emilia Romagna region, while in 2009 a 5.9-magnitude quake struck the central town of L'Aquila killing 309 people.