Italy straddles one of Europe's most active faultlines, so earthquakes in the region don't come as a major surprise. In 1915, around 32,000 people were killed when a 7-magnitude quake struck the city of Avezzano in central Italy. 15 years later, some 1,400 people died when a 6.5-magnitude tremor shook the central region of Irpinia.
 
In 1976, another earthquake of the same magnitude killed almost 1,000 people and left as many as 70,000 homeless in northeast Italy. Irpinia faced more devastation in 1980 when almost 3,000 people were killed. In 2009, a major earthquake hit the central region of Abruzzo, killing more than 300 people and damaging the historical city of L'Aquila. The two most recent ones, in 2012, hit the city of Modena in northern Italy, killing nearly 30 people.