Italian quake victims refuse to leave homes

NORCIA, Italy — Residents of a mountainous region of central Italy displaced by a series of powerful earthquakes resisted relocation Monday and appealed for campers and tents so they could remain close to their homes and businesses.

The latest quake Sunday morning —with a magnitude 6.6, the strongest to hit Italy in 36 years — caused no deaths or serious injuries, largely because most vulnerable city centers already had been closed due to previous damage and many homes vacated.

[...] it did complicate relief efforts in a fragile zone still coping with the aftermath of an August earthquake that killed nearly 300 and a pair of damaging aftershocks last week.

The town is famous for its lentils and its spectacular display of wildflowers, and the residents who stayed behind include farmers and shepherds sharing a camper and two containers they organized themselves, according to the news agency ANSA.