It's becoming almost familiar in central Italy: buildings shaking and items falling as an earthquake rattles the ground.
At magnitude 6.6, Sunday morning's tremor was stronger than the shake on August the 24th that killed almost 300 people in surrounding towns and villages, including Amatrice, just 55 kilometres away.
Pope Francis made a surprise visit to the area in early October, meeting rescue workers and residents among the rubble.
The region has been shaken numerous times over the past two months alone, with many people having fled over fears for their safety.
Just days earlier, two serious quakes were recorded in the area, one reaching a magnitude 6.1.
The latest earthquake struck before 8am local time, with the epicentre close to the historic town of Norcia.
Residents described the moment they felt it hit.
"This morning there was this very strong earthquake, it seemed like the shaking under my feet would never end. I felt very scared so I ran away. It wasn't stopping."
"The walls just fell down. The walls of my building are made of plasterboard. Everything fell upon us, all the furniture in the house, all sorts of things."
The historic 13th century Basilica of St. Benedict collapsed, along with a number of other churches and the town hall belltower.
Warner Marzocchi, a geophysicist from Italy's National Institute of Geophysics and Vulcanology, told Al Jazeera central Italy is particularly prone to seismic events.
He says it's part of a chain reaction, where one earthquake can trigger others.
"What's going on right now is something that is expected, because these earthquakes have occurred in the past, and will likely also occur in the future. Since August 24 when the first shock occurred that created a big perturbation in the surrounding area, we said that most of the earthquakes in the seismic sequence have a small to medium magnitude, but there is some chance that some of these aftershocks could have the same magnitude as the events that generated the sequence or even bigger, and this is what happened on October 26 and today."
The earthquake was felt as far north as cities close to the border with Austria, and in the south of the Italian peninsula.
As a precaution, authorities in Rome shut down the city's metro system, while officials examine Catholic basilicas for damage.
Aftershocks have continued to rattle Norcia and surrounding areas.
Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi is promising to rebuild all structures that have been lost, and calling for unity.
"It is essential that we send out a message of solidarity and compassion. A message that they are not alone. That we are going through this terrible page in the life of our country together."
