ROME -- A new earthquake tremor measured at 4.8 on the Richter scale ripped through central Italy again early Thursday morning, civil protection workers said.

 At 1:35 a.m.  a new quake was felt in central Italy, and even as far as the capital. Its epicentre was in the province of Macerata, at a distance of about 2 km from Pieve Torina, and about 11-12 km from Visso, Ussita and Camerino -- some of the towns hit hardest by the latest October quakes, along with Norcia.

 According to the latest survey carried out by the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology, the epicentre was located at a depth of only 8.4 km.

 For the moment, there are no signs of new buildings having collapsed or of any emergencies, said the Marche civil protection workers.

 The national civil protection service has said that the number of people they are helping in the earthquake-hit regions has now reached over 27,000 since the Aug. 24 quake.

 Minister Graziano Delrio said that between 4 to 7 billion euros will be needed a year. “So much money is needed because we have invested so little in prevention over the last 20 years. There are even those who estimate 100 billion, it depends on priorities, but the work can be progressive with 4-7 billion a year.”

 The constant succession of earthquakes from Oct. 26 to 30 has deformed an area that spans over 1,100 square kilometres, La Repubblica writes.

 nkd